Latest news with #Coatbridge
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Woman awarded £150,000 after LG phone sparks fire in her home
A woman has successfully sued former phone manufacturer LG for nearly £150,000 after one of its devices sparked a fire in her home in North Parks and her husband Robert were in bed at their house in Coatbridge when a fire broke out in the living room at about 03:00 on 31 October 2018.A laptop and two mobile phones, a Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG K8, were left charging on a couch before the couple went to Edinburgh Sheriff Court, a judge ruled that the LG phone, supplied to Ms Parks by her employer North Lanarkshire Council, was the source of the fire. In his judgement, Sheriff Robert Fife said: "At the time the fire started, the LG was in normal use, being charged by a suitable charger, and in circumstances in which a standard product would not have failed.""The court was entitled to draw an inference that the LG was defective."The LG did not meet the standard of safety that persons generally are entitled to expect." The court heard Ms Parks was treated for smoke inhalation after the had a history of panic attacks and anxiety which worsened after the a result of the fire, she was off work between 2 November in 2018 and 7 February raised an action against LG Electronics UK Ltd at the personal injury court at Edinburgh Sheriff Court seeking for the fire was contested, but the sheriff ruled on the balance of probabilities that the LG phone ignited the found that there was a defect in the LG phone and that Ms Parks had successfully established liability against the also found that she had proved she sustained injury because of the sheriff ruled that Ms Parks was entitled to £149,496 in 2021 LG announced that it was shutting down its smartphone division after struggling to compete with other brands.
BBC News
28-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Killie youngsters Marchant & Duruh head out on loan
Kilmarnock youngster Grant Marchant has joined Albion Rovers on loan as part of a co-operation agreement. The midfielder heads to Cliftonhill as part of the agreement which aims to give more opportunities to young Scottish players, allowing them to move freely between both clubs throughout the season. Fellow teenager Samuel Duruh joins Coatbridge on a temporary deal for the upcoming season out with the co-operation agreement.
Daily Record
03-07-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Buchanan High pupils help create new stained-glass windows for their school
The final product now adorns the building and is the perfect way to greet pupils, parents, staff and visitors. Creative Coatbridge children have helped to transform the look of their school. As part of their National art and design course, Buchanan High pupils were asked to come up with a range of ideas - culminating in a stained-glass window design for the two windows at the front of the school. The final product now adorns the building and is the perfect way to greet pupils, parents, staff and visitors. The pupils' creations are even more impressive given they had to follow a series of instructions. A Buchanan High School spokeswoman explained: "Limitations of the brief included that the design was to be based on the Scottish company Timorous Beasties, and the theme was set as Flora and Fauna. "The windows were to be divided into 10 panels - one for each student - and the designs began as drawings using pen and inks and continued as digital designs using Procreate on iPads. "The fantastic final designs were realised by stained-glass window specialist Steven Graham. "We couldn't be happier with how the windows look and congratulate the pupils, and thank Steven, for all of their hard, dedicated work." *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
Times
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Tom Clarke: Donald Dewar was a miserable sociopath and a bigot
One of Labour's longest-serving MPs has claimed that Donald Dewar was a'miserable sociopath' whose vindictive behaviour appeared to have been motivated by snobbery, jealousy and 'deep-rooted anti-Catholic bigotry'. Sir Tom Clarke, who served as a minister in the Blair government, claims his political career was derailed by an 'unfathomable hate campaign', aimed at thwarting his progress, which was orchestrated by the architect of Scottish devolution. The former MP for Coatbridge and Chryston, who holds both a knighthood and a papal knighthood, has used his forthcoming autobiography to make a series of scathing allegations against the country's inaugural first minister. Dewar, who died in office suddenly in 2000, is commemorated with a statue in the heart of Glasgow and was hailed posthumously — by allies and opponents alike — as the 'father of the nation'. Clarke has broken decades of silence to highlight in his memoir what he describes as his erstwhile Labour comrade's 'mendacious, petty and back-biting' nature. • Twenty years on from his death, where would Scotland be with Donald Dewar at the helm? He alleges that Dewar and his supporters attempted to destroy his career and reputation by circulating an official party press release which stated he had contradicted 'a virus', prompting speculation that he had developed Aids — then regarded as an incurable death sentence. 'I have since been told that the release had been signed-off at the 'highest level' within the Labour Party in Scotland,' he told The Sunday Times. 'It is difficult not to draw the conclusion that this, undoubtedly the nastiest piece in a very protracted campaign against me, was entirely the work of one Donald Dewar.' Clarke was actually suffering from ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, from which he quickly made a complete recovery. 'Donald Dewar's inexplicable loathing for me carried on right up to his death,' he alleged. 'May God rest his soul.' Clarke, who served as minister of state for film and tourism in the late 1990s, alleges that Dewar pursued a decades-long 'vendetta' against him, which intensified significantly after he replaced him as shadow secretary of state for Scotland. • We have failed to become Dewar's ideal of a 'successful Scotland' He claimed his rival used media contacts to ensure damaging and negative stories about his leadership dominated the news agenda. Clarke said their relationship had deteriorated significantly when John Smith, the then Labour leader, chose him to replace Dewar as the party's leader in Scotland in 1992. 'He told firmly that I should not expect anyone from his former team to work with me or assist in any way,' he said. Clarke speculated that the root of their rancorous relationship could stem from Dewar's past failure to be selected to represent his Coatbridge constituency. 'He was ever the man to bear a grudge,' he claimed. 'Perhaps with Donald I was the victim of the perfect storm of snobbery, elitism and irrational personal jealousy.' • John MacKay: Scotland is a different country to when I began presenting the news Other party colleagues and prominent figures have suggested a more malign explanation. 'I don't imagine I will ever know all the reasons for this inexplicable hostility,' he said. 'However reluctantly, I cannot ignore the number of times my religious beliefs were mentioned. 'My closest friend in the Commons, the Welsh Labour MP Gareth Wardell, highlighted Dewar's constant and insidious attempts to undermine me.' 'He ascribes Dewar's hate campaign to something much nastier which many others have commented on; his deep-rooted anti-Catholic bigotry.' There is no evidence to suggest Donald Dewar harboured sectarian views. Clarke, who lost the seat he represented for 33 years to the SNP in 2015, added: 'That was also the view of the late Cardinal Winning. Winning, the former Archbishop of Glasgow, accused Dewar, an atheist, of harbouring prejudice against Catholicism. 'Donald Dewar and all these [Labour] fellows were bigots,' he alleged, in comments which were made public after his death in 2001. This was categorically denied, at that time, by Lord Elder, Dewar's friend and former special adviser, who suggested that Winning's ire was fuelled by the first minister's steadfast support for gay rights. 'There were disagreements.' he said. 'That is hardly the same thing as being anti-Catholic. 'One of the people Donald had most time and most respect for was the Catholic priest in Anniesland [in his Glasgow constituency].' David Whitton, the former Labour MSP who served as Dewar's official spokesman and special advisor, was perplexed by Clarke's claims. 'I just don't recognise Tom's description of Donald Dewar at all,' he said. 'I find it pretty sad that he had decided to describe him in that way when he's in no position to defend himself or his record.' One senior Labour figure said: 'This kind of undignified score-settling and mud-slinging would be unseemly coming from a teenager, never mind an 84-year-old knight of the realm.' 'Given that Donald's team was filled with people from Catholic backgrounds he must have been a pretty ineffectual bigot.' 'In his heart of hearts, Tom must know that the only thing that held him back was his lack of ability and complete absence of charisma and likeability.' Clarke, now retired, acknowledged his claims would spark an angry backlash from those close to Dewar, but stood by his version of events. 'I have recorded what I think is the story of my life and it wouldn't make sense if I wasn't completely honest,' he said. 'If people come out worse then they would have wanted that's unfortunate, but I must tell it exactly as I recall it.' To Be Honest…The Story of My Life by Sir Tom Clarke will be published this week by Baxter Jardine, with all proceeds going to charity.
Daily Record
25-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Covid conman lied about £1m company to get his hands on £50K government cash
A probe found Jamie Rowatt abused the Covid bounce back loan scheme aimed to help businesses through the pandemic. A construction boss who lied about having a £1million firm to bag a £50k government covid loan has been banned from running companies for 11 years. A probe found Jamie Rowatt - whose other company left families tens of thousands out of pocket after pulling out of the sale of several homes - had abused the Covid bounce back loan scheme aimed to help businesses through the pandemic. The Insolvency Service said the 46-year-old, who splits his time between North Lanarkshire and Spain, claimed KR Clyde Valley's turnover was a whopping £1,000,000 when it was actually zero. The Coatbridge firm, which is now in liquidation, then transferred more than £40,000 in three payments - to a shareholder, Rowatt and a connected company. The ban comes just three months after the businessman, who has been linked to dozens of firms on Companies House, was ordered by a court to pay former business partners £270,000 for breaching the terms on an investment deal. Neil North, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: 'Jamie Rowatt secured a maximum-value £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for KR Clyde Valley Ltd by falsely claiming an estimated annual turnover of £1 million. In reality, the company was dormant and had no turnover. 'Within days of receiving the funds, £35,000 was transferred to a shareholder, £4,000 to Rowatt himself, and later £4,400 to a connected company - none of which were for the economic benefit of the business as required under the terms of the scheme. 'The position of company director carries significant responsibilities that must be taken seriously. 'Rowatt's conduct disregarded these obligations which is why he is banned from directing any company until June 2036.' In March, our sister paper the Paisley Daily Express revealed how families owed tens of thousands of pounds from another of Rowatt's firms had still not received their money almost four years after it pulled out of the sale of five homes. KR Construction pulled the missives from the potential buyers of its Broadlie Road homes in Neilston in 2022. Having paid a deposit of £2,000 each and in the region of £7,000 to £9,000 for kitchens and fixtures, each household was told their cash would not be returned until the homes were sold due to financial difficulties. Alternatively, they could continue with a purchase for each home but pay an additional £40,000 which they did not agree to. Dad-of-two Tom Farmer, who handed over £11,5000 to secure a home for him and his children, said he desperately needed the money back. Mum Julie Nicol told in 2023 how she handed over a total of £9,000 in 2021. After a series of delays she, like Tom, was told the sale would not proceed at her agreed £220,000 price. Four years later she had also not received any of her money back. In February 2023, the firm had stated that rising interest rates, the pandemic and rising costs for materials meant it was 'not in a good financial position' but would seek to repay clients on completion of the project and each house sale. Mr Farmer said he was pursuing legal action against KR Construction, a sister firm of parent company Kingston Residential Investments Ltd which, according to Companies House, was also directed by Rowatt and is now in administration. A recent civil court judgement, published in March this year, also stated that Rowatt and his wife Laura, who split their time between Airdrie and Spain, must pay out £270,000 to two business partners they had struck up a friendship with. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. A judge found the Rowatts and their firm Kingston Residential Investments Ltd had breached a contract that would see the couple receive a property and £40,000 cash in return for an investment. That contract was never fulfilled. Sheriff Derek Livingston ruled that the sum should be paid to the couple by the Rowatts for breach of contract. Back in 2007, our other sister paper The Sunday Mail told how unhappy customers were queing up to slate another of Rowatt's firms, Ace Maintenance, saying they had botched jobs, flood homes, inflated prices and delivered appalling customer service. Ace were being probed by Trading Standards after clocking up more than 100 complaints.
