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12th special adviser for McConnell takes bill to £750,000 |
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Tom Gordon, Scottish Political Correspondent
The Herald 11 May 2006
Jack McConnell was under fire last night after appointing another
special adviser to his team, taking the total to an unprecedented 12,
and the annual bill to taxpayers to £750,000.
Opposition MSPs claimed the first minister had hired another
spin-doctor at the public's expense to bolster Labour's chances in the
2007 elections.
Mr McConnell was also criticised over his choice of appointment, after
he personally chose a former lobbyist for Coca-Cola as his special
adviser on health.
Douglas Trainer started working for the first minister on Monday, just
five days after the Scottish Executive said it wanted to cut down on
junk food and fizzy drinks in schools. Earlier this year, he was
employed by the drinks giant to campaign against boycotts of its
products.
His appointment means there are now a dozen special advisers, who offer
ministers both policy and political advice, the maximum allowed by the
Privy Council. Mr McConnell has nine and Nicol Stephen, his Liberal
Democrat deputy, has three.
Mr Trainer will be paid between £37,365 and £48,354. A former
president of the National Unionof Students, he joined Luther Pendragon a London-based
public relations and lobbying firm, in 1998 and became a partner in
2002.
In 2003, he worked for Scottish Labour while on a paid sabbatical
worth £4167 to the party, organising visits by Mr McConnell and other
Labour politicians.
On a trip to Alva, Mr Trainer was felled by a karate-style kick from a female SNP council candidate.
He left Luther Pendragon last year and in recent months has worked for
Coca-Cola. His NUS links proved vital last month when he helped ensure
the union's annual conference rejected plans to boycott Coke in
university catering outlets.
Mr Trainer last night refused to discuss his work for Coca-Cola.
However, the company said he worked for its British arm in 'an advisory
capacity', successfully preventing 'an ill-informed boycott attempt'.
Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader at Holyrood, said: 'It strikes me as highly
unusual that Jack McConnell has appointed someone who worked for
Coca-Cola in their previous job to be now advising him on health
matters. But no amount of special advisers will compensate for the
inadequacy of his leadership.'
Bill Aitken, Tory chief whip, said: 'This is bad judgment by Jack. It
is also more cavalier use of taxpayers' money - it doesn't matter how
many messengers you have, the message will always be the same. This
appointment reveals the stark truth about government in Scotland. It
just keeps getting bigger and bigger.'
Mr McConnell's spokesman said the first minister decided to appoint Mr
Trainer before he began a 'short-term project' for Coca-Cola earlier
this year because of his impressive work on previous Labour campaigns.
He added: 'His work [with Coca-Cola] had nothing to do with healthy living. It was about workforce and international issues.'
An executive spokesman insisted special advisers were value for money, as they helped ministers work on behalf of the public.
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