Taxpayers hit by £4,000 bill for Labour Lord John Reid’s luxury trips to see Celtic play, pissing on public without the courtesy to call it rain

Dear All

During the Blair years John Reid was seen as a Labour 'hard man'; the guy Blair sent into departments to sort them out when a scandal broke.

Ried famously said of the Home Office after Charles Clarke was kicked out that “it wasn’t fit for purpose”.

It made good telly but it was a ploy to deflect the public.

After his career in politics effectively ended Reid became Celtic chairman and a Lord, Lord John Reid however is still living the high life by using taxpayers' cash to pay for chauffeur-driven travel to football stadiums across Scotland to watch his football team play.

As a former Home Secretary, Defence Secretary and Northern Ireland Minister, he gets travel perks in a security deal for high-ranking former ministers perceived to be terror targets.

I suppose the question is who would want to shot an old clapped out relic like Reid?

Is he worth the price of a bullet, even one made in China?

Really, who would want to shot an old alkie commie loving Celtic supporting bam?

The general jist of how the Reid private transport arrangements work is that Chauffeurs usually picked up Reid either at his home or Glasgow Airport take him to a match or the ground, wait, then ferry him back home or to an airport.

So, how do we know this is a con?

Despite claims Reid is travelling this way for security reasons, the journeys are understood to have been made unaccompanied by any police officers or drivers trained in protection.

In other words there is no security.

Labour MP Frank Roy said:

"Terrorists don't distinguish between public and private engagements, which is why protected persons must be kept safe in the way the security services best advise."

But the public can tell they are getting the rip roaring piss took out of them unlike Frank Roy, a fat dumpling.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie says Celtic should cover the cost of driving Reid to matches.

He added:

“Clearly unacceptable that taxpayers' money is used to ferry John Reid to football matches in this fashion.""Lord Reid is the chairman of Celtic Football Club and it surely should fall to that club to shoulder the costs of his attendance at matches and training grounds."

A Home Office spokesperson said:

"The government is committed to ensuring that protective security arrangements and their associated costs are under constant review. Protection decisions are taken on the basis of detailed risk assessments, which take account of an individual's public duties and private lives."

So, far Reid has cost us £4,000 to watch his team play football with no intention of paying back a single penny.

I have a cheaper solution for Reid, watch Celtic on the telly, it would be cheaper all round for the public.

Yet again, the Labour Party claims their own sense of entitlement making a mockery of the public trust placed in politicians.

Labour’s contempt for the public is pretty blatant that they don’t bother to conceal it anymore.

Greed, greed, greed!

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University