POISONOUS
Anger as letters smear social club
The owners of a popular Rutherglen pub have been left furious after a smear campaign against the boozer accused them of flouting the Government’s coronavirus warnings.
Glencairn Social Club staff were stunned when a number of poison pen letters were pinned up on shops in Croftfoot and Castlemilk making a string of damning and malicious allegations against them. The handwritten notes, which do not offer any evidence to back up their claims, maliciously state that a member of staff at the social club tested positive for the illness and that other staff were threatened with losing their jobs if they spoke out. The claims have been strongly refuted by the pub’s management and staff members, who now fear the smears
could damage their business. OwnerWillie Harvey, who also manages the Rutherglen Glencairn football team, said:“We are furious about this. Under no circumstances would we ever endanger anyone’s health.
“The letter is complete rubbish with no truth to it. If we find out who has done this then we will take legal action against them.
“I can only guess someone has a grudge against the club or someone who works here. This is a difficult enough time as it is without lies like this being spread.”
Mr Harvey, who co-owns the venue with Robert Quinn, told the Reformer that the pub was the first in Rutherglen to close once the coronavirus crisis hit.
He explained:“We closed the premises on the Friday, March 20, and cancelled all our bookings.
“I think we were the first pub to close in the area, and we had already been contacting everyone with functions to say we would have to cancel even before the lockdown was enforced.
“We have been really diligent about the coronavirus as it has happened, which is why we are so angry about this.
“I cannot emphasise enough how strongly we are denying this, and how someone is clearly trying to create mischief and damage us at the same time.”
Staff members also took to social media to hit out at the claims.
Nichola Dougall wrote:“It is a completely fabricated story.
“No staff members had the virus or were in contact with anyone who had it.
“All government guidelines were followed and the venue was closed down as soon as it was advised to.
“Most of our core staff have been at the venue for years, we are more like family than colleagues so to suggest that we are treated like this is just utter nonsense!”