Council staff fired over ‘appalling’ Glitter email
A number of the South Lanarkshire Council staff involved are social workers, while others work in the roads department.
An investigation was launched after a worker who was appalled by the image alerted bosses.
The picture shows convicted paedophile Glitter carrying a shopping bag with a child’s head superimposed on it.
The council refuted claims in the Sunday Mirror newspaper that the child’s image was taken from its own “at risk register”.
A South Lanarkshire Council spokeswoman said: “It is totally untrue that images of children on South Lanarkshire Council’s at risk register have been circulated in an email. We do not hold photographs of children on our at risk register.
“As of today a number of employees across the council have been dismissed and others have received final written warnings over the circulation of an email featuring the image of a child’s face superimposed on a shopping bag carried by Gary Glitter — as featured in a Sunday newspaper.
“The image is one currently circulating throughout the United Kingdom.”
She added: “The image is totally inappropriate and represents a gross misuse of council email.”
She said a council investigation was continuing.
The council could not detail exactly how many staff had been sacked and how many warned as the disciplinary process was still underway and employees may appeal any decisions.
Most of those who were involved are based at the council’s Rutherglen office.
Former rock star Glitter — real name Paul Gadd — served almost three years in jail in Vietnam for sex crimes involving two young girls.
He was deported from the country at the end of his prison term and flew to Thailand and Hong Kong.
He has a prior conviction for possessing child porno-graphy, for which he served two months in jail in 1999.
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