Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP defends purchase of County Inn

Apr 1 2010 by Douglas Dickie, Hamilton Advertiser

TOMMY McAVOY MP this week explained how he had financed his purchase of a pub.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP said he had bought the County Inn, in the heart of his constituency, with his own money and a loan from the bank.

He came under pressure to reveal full details of how he financed the purchase of the troubled boozer which has racked up debts of over £½m.

Mr McAvoy bought the County Inn from Cambuslang millionaire Willie Haughey, who is under scrutiny over links with the Labour Party.

Figures in a newspaper suggested that Haughey made a profit of £176,250 on selling the County Inn, which he had owned for just a year.

Opposition politicians have called on Mr McAvoy to be reveal full details of the deal.

However, Mr McAvoy, who will retire at the next General Election, slammed the report and said the entire deal had been financed by himself and a bank loan, thought to be in the region of £200,000.

He said: “Unfortunately, the reporter chose not to report my categoric assurance the County Inn purchase by me went through the normal process of business plan, independent valuation and business loan application. Also not reported was my categoric assurance Mr Haughey did not provide, in any way, financial support for the purchase or subsequently. The deposit was paid out of my, and my wife and family’s, pot of savings.

“Let me be clear, the purchase of the County Inn was bought with a combination of a business loan from a High Street bank and family savings.”

Mr Haughey said he had never met Mr McAvoy socially and had no idea how he financed the deal. Opposition politicians said, in the interests of fairness, Mr McAvoy should publish a full account of how he financed the deal.

Conservative MSP for Glasgow, Bill Aitken, who described Mr Haughey’s relationship with the Labour Party as “incestuous,” said: “In the current climate, transparency is essential.” John Mason, the Rutherglen-born SNP MP for Glasgow East said: “I would call for complete openness, because there’s a whole level of suspicion here between Labour, the council and some of these outside business people.”

According to official documents, Mr McAvoy bought the County Inn, on Dukes Road, for £381,875 in 2001. The pub is listed in his Register of Interests and is run by his son, Michael.

Mr Haughey has come under fire after it was alleged he had been unfairly awarded public sector contracts. Mr Haughey has donated over £1m to the Labour Party since 2003.