Willie Sullivan

Willie Sullivan is on the board of Compass as its Scottish rep.

Politics

According to a BBC report on the 2003 Labour Party conference in Bournemouth: 'Willie Sullivan, from Dunfermline West, was heckled as he tried to make the point that "the principles behind foundation hospitals are socialist principles".'[1]

Career

Sullivan's name cam up in the Parliamentary Standards inquiry into the conduct of John Reid. Lesly Quinn, who succeded Alex Rowley as General Secretary of the Labour Party in Scotland noted that Sullivan worked for Rowley:

When I worked with Alex the only time I ever remember discussing with him much the employment of staff was Willie Sullivan. I had difficulties with Willie`s employment. Alex told me he wanted Willie to work as a Development Officer and Willie was meant to report to me as Line Manager but spent much of his time with responsibilities from Alex, i.e. driving him to meetings, speaking to people etc. I found this difficult.[2]

Sullivan was apparently worried by being dragged into the enquiry and phoned the Commissioner for Standards, Elizabeth Filkin in what seems to have been a panic:

Willie Sullivan telephoned me having received my letter. He said he was very anxious about things because "he believed he would be finished in the Labour Party if he talked to me". I said I was sure that was not the case that the Standards and Privileges Committee had a majority of Labour Members on it and they would be grateful and impressed if he were brave and informed me of what he knew. He said what worried him was that it was the Labour majority, because he was sure that anything he said would leak into the Party.

I explained my procedures to him and that I was currently getting information from a wide number of people about what had happened. He said that there were some of the questions that he had no knowledge of which concerned formal employment arrangements but that he was party to conversations in the office and indeed some of the individuals told him what the situation was I asked him either to write that to me or to have another conversation with me on the telephone and tell it to me so that I could send him a note. He said he would write to me with the information and I thanked him.^[3]

Affiliations

• Taleem Trust Director

Notes

1. ^ Select Committee on Standards and Privileges Second Report, Annex 171 'File note by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Willie Sullivan, 21 March 2000 Telephone call with Willie Sullivan http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200001/cmselect/cmstnprv/89/89214.htm