Annex 164
Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards from Mr Paul McKinney
Thank you for your letter of 17 February. I am sorry
for my long delay in replying.
As I mentioned in my last letter I was in the employ
of the Labour Party for less than two months and in that time
I had no responsibility for personnel matters. I fear that consequently
I cannot be of great assistance with the details of your further
questions. However I am anxious to help in any way I can and would
answer your specific questions as follows.
1. I was not aware of the employment arrangements
of Mr Kevin Reid or Mr Chris Winslow. I do not know, and to the
best of my knowledge have not met, Ms Suzanne Hilliard.
2. I have no recollection of detailed discussions
with Dr Reid about the employment of his son. I do recall that
Dr Reid indicated that Kevin Reid might be able to assist with
press cuttings and other administrative matters.
3. I had no formal discussions about the
employment arrangements for these three people. My only recollection
of any discussion about employment was in connection with Kevin
Reid as above.
4. I attended a number of meetings of Labour`s
Scottish Strategy Group in April, and from memory one of these
was at Keir Hardie House.
5. I think there may have been a discussion
about Kevin Reid assisting me in an administrative capacity following
one of these meetings. I am afraid I cannot recollect the detail,
but I think Dr Reid suggested his son might be able to give some
assistance on an ad hoc basis. I did not discuss any details of
payment or hours, as I had no personnel responsibilities in my
Labour Party role.
6. I was not Kevin Reid`s line manager.
7. I do not know who paid Kevin Reid, and
I don`t know if he was paid.
8. As I have mentioned Kevin Reid did not
formally work for me. When he did assist with basic administration
I cannot recall an occasion when he was working full time.
9. I would not have described Kevin Reid`s
assistance as that of a media monitor. As I recall he photocopied
newspapers and answered occasional phone calls. My memory is of
him being in the office a few hours a day, but I am not able to
recollect an average for the time he was in Keir Hardie House.
10. I had not been aware of concerns in these
arrangements.
I hope these replies are helpful.
7 March 2000
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