It is with regret that I have to bring to your attention the death of a young man in our area in the early hours of Sunday morning.

As you may have seen from media reporting yesterday, Gary Weir, aged 24, received fatal injuries when he was involved in an altercation with a group of individuals outside Shettleston Juniors Social Club following his attendance at a 21st Birthday Party for one of his friends. Three of Gary’s friends, who had also been at the party, suffered serious injuries although have now left hospital.

At this time there is no clear motive for the attack but I have no doubt that the key to identifying those responsible lies somewhere in our community.

I would be grateful if those who have any information which could lead to identifying those responsible via CRIMESTOPPERS on 0800 555 111. An incident room has been set up and can be contacted on 0141 532 6706 for those who have any information and are willing to leave their details. Any information given will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

The road next to Shettleston Juniors remains closed whilst forensic and search teams conclude their vital work. However the Police anticipate that they will leave a presence in the area for at least the next 48 hours. There will also be additional reassurance patrols in Easthall, where Gary lived, in order to reassure his family and relatives and also those of the other injured parties.

Please do not hesitate to get in contact with me if you need any help or have further concerns.

SNP MSP for Shettleston has slammed ScotRail for cutting services to East End stations. Rail passengers in the east end of Glasgow are set to lose out following the completion of the Queen Street Tunnel upgrade.

The number of trains stopping at stations in the East End on the Glasgow-Airdrie-Edinburgh line, which include Easterhouse, Garrowhill, Shettleston, Carntyne and Bellgrove, will be halved during the day compared to the timetable before the tunnel works began.  Up to March there were four trains per hour to and from Edinburgh (two direct and two requiring a change).  But now there will only be two per hour.

And there are to be no direct trains between Edinburgh and the East End stations during evenings.  Previously there were two each hour.

Another reduction in service is that local trains will no longer run every 15 minutes but will be at less regular intervals.

MSP for Shettleston Constituency John Mason raised concerns with ScotRail before the timetable was announced.

He commented:

“I had hoped that the timetable would return to the previous position of trains stopping at East End stations every 15 minutes as was the case. It is a real let-down and incredibly disappointing that ScotRail are cutting our train service in this way.

“While it may have been reasonable to have a poorer service during the maintenance works it is not acceptable that my constituents should continue to suffer a poorer service going forward.

“I have written to ScotRail regarding my concerns and I very much hope they will look at reversing these cuts.”

You can find a copy of Scotrails response at the following link: 20160805124932214

That the Parliament welcomes the end of the right to buy scheme in Scotland; believes that the scheme promoted short-term gain for individuals above the long-term needs of society by directly leading to the fall in the construction of new housing; understands that the repeal of the scheme has been welcomed by housing bodies across Scotland, with the head of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations saying that the move “hasn’t come a moment too soon”; notes that nearly 500,000 homes had been sold since the scheme was introduced in 1980; further understands that, at a time of housing shortage, the removal of the right to buy will make it more viable for councils and housing associations to invest in long-term projects as they will no longer be forced to sell property at a loss, and believes that this can only be a positive step in terms of ensuring that everyone in Scotland has access to affordable housing.

That the Parliament notes the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War on 17 July 1936; acknowledges the place that the war had in the larger struggle against fascism across Europe in the years that followed; deplores the overthrow of a democratic government by military means; further deplores the human cost of the civil war with more than 500,000 people killed and almost as many displaced due to the conflict; further notes the sacrifices made by Scots and those of other nations who joined international brigades to fight for democracy, and believes that freedom will continue to endure as long as there are people willing to sacrifice themselves for it.