Scotland on Sunday reports

MARTIN HANNAN

THE sacked chairman of the Scottish Rugby Union broke his silence last night to launch an outspoken attack on those he claimed are attempting to "smear" him and former chief executive Phil Anderton.

David Mackay spoke out after suggestions that Anderton received a £400,000 pay-off when he resigned following Mackay's own dismissal by the union's general committee in January.

Leaks to journalists suggested that, even though Anderton had resigned, committee members had been forced to go along with the bumper golden goodbye because of the terms of a deal struck between Anderton and Mackay while the latter was still in office. Anderton has already denied the allegations and appointed a lawyer and a leading PR firm, which insisted his pay-off was £250,000 before tax.

Last night Mackay told Scotland on Sunday that he had hoped the affair was closed, but now felt compelled to speak out because of the allegations, which have been made ahead of the SRU's annual general meeting next Friday.

He said: "I am very disappointed that this has all come out in what is a clear attempt to smear both Phil Anderton and myself. I just hope the representatives of the clubs at the AGM see this tactic for what it is and vote accordingly to get the changes that are needed for Scottish rugby to prosper."

He added: "It is clearly a sad and pathetic attempt to influence the AGM. What they have done is cast a fly in the hope that someone will bite on their nonsense. It is the last desperate act of a dying breed. I've often spoken of the SRU being in the last chance saloon but now this latest tissue of lies really shows how bad things are."

Mackay said that the changes to Anderton's contract had been drawn up because of the civil war between the SRU's general committee - made up of representatives of rugby clubs and organisation - and the SRU's officials and executive board, who had met opposition in the attempts to modernise the way the sport is run.

He said: "I made no secret of the fact that it was me who took the initiative to draw up the contract and take it to the remuneration committee. I strongly felt that the SRU should hold on to Phil Anderton for as long as possible because long before Phil got his contract I was well aware that there was a plot to undermine me or get rid of me. Since I appointed Phil I took the view that the chief executive deserved the protection of a proper contract with agreement about compensation in the case of termination of his contract because I felt that was a possibility.

"He was entitled to proper protection under employment law and that is what happened. Events subsequently proved that we were correct to act."

The last-ditch attempt by the so-called Old Guard of the committee now appears to have back-fired. Mackay and Anderton have instructed lawyer Peter Watson and PR guru Jack Irvine to defend their position in public. Watson, who handled the litigation over the Lockerbie and Piper Alpha disasters, warned last night: "All who comment should measure their words carefully."

At the same time, it has emerged that the SRU committee members have called in a Glasgow legal firm to carry out an investigation into the contract, which was approved by the union's former remuneration committee last summer.

Scotland on Sunday understands that former executive board members such as Andrew Flanagan, chief executive of Scottish Media Group PLC, are being quizzed over their decision to authorise Anderton's contract. This has further infuriated Mackay who says that the contract has already been legally checked by the SRU's own solicitors.

The £400,000 figure leaked to the press is plain wrong. The leakers either deliberately or mistakenly added Anderton's annual salary of £130,000 to the pay-off figure of £250,000. It is believed that the SRU's annual accounts will show that Anderton's total pay in his final year was £411,000.

Mackay maintains that the general committee, which was supposed to meet just four times a year to review policy, was not entitled to decide the details of the chief executive's salary. "The matter was not reported to the general committee because it was a matter for the remuneration committee and if the sums had been put in the minutes there is no doubt that the details would have been made public by those on the committee who wanted Phil and I out of Murrayfield."

Mackay was ousted in January when the president of the SRU, Gordon Dixon, and other senior members made it clear that there was going to be a notion of no confidence in him. "When they came to see me at the hotel, looking to dismiss me, they offered me compensation for the termination of my contract. I told them I did not want any money, but I also told them that Phil Anderton would leave if I departed and I emphasised that his contract was watertight, that he would be entitled to the sums he eventually got. I understand that after taking legal advice the payment to Phil was authorised by [interim chairman] Freddie MacLeod. Are they now saying that should not have happened?"

The most important vote at the AGM will be for the direct election of the new president, with former Scottish international captain Andy Irvine an overwhelming favourite to beat George Blackie, the senior vice-president from Glasgow. Mackay said: "I think Andy Irvine will be an excellent ambassador for Scottish rugby and I look forward to seeing him elected at the AGM."

A senior SRU figure, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "All of this just proves all along just how inadequate were some members of the old general committee. They cannot accept that they have been democratically voted out of existence and are still fighting a rearguard action to try and blacken the names of Anderton and Mackay. They have had to tell the staff that up to 20 of them will lose their jobs and plainly they are trying to blame that on everybody but themselves."

Anderton joined Hearts shortly after he left the SRU, and is known to be absolutely furious that details of his pay off were made public. Friends of Anderton claim that, after tax, he took home just £150,000.

Anderton's decision to retain Jack Irvine as his spokesman is particularly significant. Irvine is the high-profile owner of Media House public relations company and was one of the leading lights in the Clause 28 campaign.

Irvine said last night: "Mr Anderton will not be making any public statements even though he anticipated that he would be the victim of a smear campaign. But I can say that David Mackay is one of the most respected men in Scottish business over several decades and Phil Anderton is one of our brightest young sports administrators, and they do not deserve this treatment. They will be defending their good names to the utmost, and if that means legal action then so be it. I should also say that we are aware of the names of the people who leaked this to the press and we have passed these names to our lawyers.

"This latest smear is just a cover for their own abysmal financial and man management was like. They couldn't even get the figures right. Once again the blazerati have shown themselves to be world champions at shooting themselves in the feet."

An SRU spokesman confirmed that the total amount paid for the loss of his contract to Phil Anderton was £250,000. The spokesman added: "These figures have just been published and will be explained at the AGM on Friday."

It had been hoped the AGM would be a positive experience. Instead, there will now be a further round of bloodletting at Murrayfield.

This article was posted on 19-Jun-2005, 08:29 by Hugh Barrow.