Insensitivecomments

I have, over the course of the last month or so, been speaking to families affected by the water ingress in burial chambers at Ayr Cemetery.

Their distress and anguish is palpable when speaking to them.

I understand that the council elections are looming and Conservative List MSP Mrs Sharon Dowey will be trying hard to get her husband re-elected but I do feel it is highly insensitive for Mrs Dowey to use the heartbreak of these families for political point scoring in her column.

There has never been any suggestion from myself that the UK Government is at fault for the water ingress. This is simply not true, and it is confusing as false information is being given out.

To also suggest that this is somehow down to council cuts or the new leisure is quite simply insensitive. I am all for sparring in a political arena but as far as I am concerned this matter is out of bounds. The families have enough to deal with right now without being dragged into a political argument.

I’ll continue to work with them in private to find a resolution that suits everyone. And I’d advise Mrs Dowey to offer her help as well, instead of using grieving families as an excuse to take a shot at me.

Siobhian Brown, MSP for Ayr