Lawyers acting on behalf of Steven Purcell have rejected claims that Glasgow City Council chiefs were preparing to tell the public he was suffering from a "chemical dependency".
 
The Scotsman reported on Thursday that a team of council aides had been preparing to assist Mr Purcell in a public relations strategy before his shock resignation on Monday. 
 
The newspaper said the draft proposal from Mr Purcell's in-house team of advisors would have laid out the reasons for his sudden departure with the words "chemical dependency" suggested to explain the condition.
 
 Mr Purcell eventually brought in his own team of advisers and a public statement was issued saying Mr Purcell had stepped down suffering "stress and exhaustion".
 
On Wednesday, Jack Irvine, the public relations expert brought in by Mr Purcell, released a statement saying his client  had been discharged from private Castle Craig Hospital, which specialises in treating drug and alcohol addictions among other conditions.

• Purcell discharged from drug and alcohol treatment centre

Today, the 37-year-old politician's team of advisors rejected the latest newspaper story. They released a statement, saying: “Today’s story in The Scotsman is without foundation and is now in the hands of Councillor Steven Purcell’s legal advisers.”
 
Glasgow City Council said it could not comment.

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