Now he’s a counsel leader

THE former leader of Glasgow City Council, Steven Purcell, is to become a life coach and advise health professionals on how to cope with stress.

The Labour politician, who resigned in disgrace in March 2010, also plans to speak in public for the first time about his personal crisis.

Mr Purcell, 41, was a high flyer tipped to become a future First Minister when his personal life and career dramatically collapsed amid claims of cocaine use, gangsters and blackmail plots.

The councillor for Drumchapel and Anniesland had married, but split f rom his wife i n 2006, announcing that he was gay. Anti-corruption officers mounted an investigation into his time at the City Chambers, but last year the Crown Office said that there was i nsufficient evidence of criminality.

At around the same time, a drunken incident at his flat in the Merchant City saw a man convicted of punching another man in the face.

Mr Purcell said he was looking forward to addressing a £45-ahead evening function of dentists at the Clyde Dental Centre in Glasgow next week.

He said: ‘I will be talking about what I have learned from the issues involved. Since it happened, I have studied a lot about depression and stress. I am a lot stronger now. Time is a great healer.’

He said there was ‘no chance’ of a return to public life. ‘I’ve been working for quite a while now,’ he added. ‘I have been doing consultancy work, in change management.’

Advance publicity for the event, which will address the issues of ‘stress, anxiety and professional burnout’ states: ‘At the meeting, Steven will discuss the factors that led to his breakdown and the steps that he took to help rebuild his life.’