The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ex-SFA head loses bid to keep compensation after row over pension
Former SFA supremo Gordon Smith has lost a battle to keep a compensation windfall after he was mis-sold a pension investment.
Smith, 66, had lodged a claim with a financial watchdog after he suffered a “considerable loss” from sinking cash into a scheme.
The ex-Rangers player claimed he had been given bad advice and turned to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a bid to claw back money.
The FCA agreed with Smith and ruled he was entitled to compensation.
But it has emerged he will not get the money after he was made bankrupt and it will be used to pay off any remaining creditors.
The father of three, of Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, declared himself bust with debts of £644,411 in 2012 but had hoped to be given a financial lifeline in compensation.
He launched a legal action at Glasgow Sheriff Court asking any award be given to him and not held by trustees appointed by the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB). Papers revealed he had invested in a pension scheme after taking financial advice in 2007 but after suffering heavy losses complained to the FCA in 2017.
Smith’s legal team argued he should keep any award as his claim had been made after his sequestration. The AIB argued he was not entitled to the funds as he had outstanding debts.
Sheriff Alayne Swanson has ruled the cash must be held by Smith’s trustees.
A womanising married police officer who strangled his long-term lover after she revealed their affair to his wife will have his jail term reviewed by the Court of Appeal.
Former Dorset Police constable Timothy Brehmer killed motherof-two Claire Parry after she sent a text message from his phone to his wife saying: “I am cheating on you.”
Mrs Parry, 41, died during a “kerfuffle” in his car in the car park of the Horns Inn in West Parley, Dorset, on May 9 last year.
Brehmer, of Hordle, Hampshire, claimed the married nurse accidentally suffered the fatal injury while he was trying to push her out of his Citroen car so he could drive away.
He was cleared of murder by a jury following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court but had previously admitted Mrs manslaughter.
Brehmer, then 41, was jailed for 10-and-a-half years in October.
His sentence has been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Lawyers representing the AGO were due to argue at a hearing yesterday before three senior judges, including Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, that the jail term handed to Brehmer was too short and should be increased.
The court was also to hear a bid by Brehmer to have his sentence reduced at the same hearing.
Trial judge Mr Justice Jacobs said in October that he sentenced Brehmer for manslaughter on the basis that he “lost control” after Mrs Parry sent the text message to his wife, Martha, also a police officer.
Parry’s
“Teflon” John Swinney may have survived another bid to oust him but the experience should serve as a reminder that in the wake of a noxious Salmond inquiry, jobs and reputations are on the line.
Winding up the debate yesterday, Scottish Conservative MSP Miles Briggs – whose name the motion of no confidence was in – spoke of meeting Mr Swinney, then an MP, as a primary school pupil growing up in Bankfoot in Perthshire.
“I know that from friends and family who still live in Perthshire, and colleagues across this chamber, including myself, that John Swinney is a respected man,” Mr Briggs said. “But that is not what this debate or motion is about today.”
Instead, the debate was the latest chapter in the story of a probe into a government probe of allegations against a former first minister that has from day one appeared to face an uphill struggle to find any real answers.
The move was triggered by the Scottish Government’s refusal to release advice issued during its legal battle with Alex Salmond, even after two parliamentary votes, and the Conservatives claim it forced the deputy first minister to finally publish.
The party says it decided to push on with the vote of no confidence, even after the documents were made public, because questions remain over how the information was released and whether there should be more of it to come.
Mr Swinney insists the Scottish Government has published everything it has – even as the committee says it needs more – and denies that he released the legal advice simply to save his own job.
But while there will be doubts over why exactly it took the Perthshire North MSP so long to release the advice, there can be little doubt that the vote yesterday was intended as a shot across the bow for a government under growing pressure.
Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie has described how in her 22-year parliamentary career she has never been so obstructed, unable to do her job, as she has been during her time on the Salmond committee.
The motion of no confidence may have been in John Swinney, she said, but it is the behaviour of the “secretive” SNP that is “truly outrageous”.
The deputy first minister, who is also education secretary, faced another vote of no confidence last year following a debacle around exam grades for school pupils during the pandemic but also survived as a result of support from the Greens.
Mr Swinney may have escaped the latest attempt on his job but his reputation – and the reputation of his government – have undoubtedly been damaged by the lingering questions hanging over the Salmond saga.
Historical mine workings caused the water in two burns near St Andrews to turn orange, experts have confirmed.
Mystery surrounded the contamination source last month when locals and visitors alike were alarmed to see both the Claremont Burn and Kinness Burn coloured bright orange – giving rise to some calling the latter the ‘Irn-Bru’ burn.
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) officers investigated the pollution incident, took samples, and carried out analysis at their laboratories in North Lanarkshire.
Scientists are now convinced the Claremont Burn and Kinness Burn were turned bright orange when mine water containing naturally occurring iron was released following heavy rain.
The investigation team believe the contamination was a short-term issue with limited environmental impact.
Paul Butler, mining sector lead at Sepa, said: “We would like to thank members of the public for reporting the recent pollution incident.
“The discolouration in the Claremont Burn and Kinness Burn was caused by iron and was associated with historic mine workings in the area.
“Sepa officers attended the location to investigate the cause of the pollution and undertake monitoring.
“There was no evidence of ongoing discolouration at the time of the visit.
“The event appears to have been a short-term issue with limited environmental impact.”
There are a number of areas of coal and ironstone mine workings to the south west of St Andrews.
Some of these, such as the former Winthank Colliery, date from around 1850 and are recorded on mine plans.
There are also likely to be areas of older unrecorded workings.
Storm events or prolonged wet weather can occasionally result in the short term release of increased water from old mines into nearby waters, including iron rich material often associated with the mine workings.
Mr Butler said: “Water from mine workings contains naturally occurring metals, such as iron, produced from the mined rocks.
“When mine water flows into a river, the iron causes the water to change colour.”