Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Sarah Brown criticised for Dame Ann Gloag remarks after Perth bus tycoon’s ‘human trafficking’ charge

Sarah Brown with husband and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Image: DC Thomson.
Sarah Brown with husband and former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Image: DC Thomson.

The wife of former Prime Minster Gordon Brown has been criticised for her social media support of Dame Ann Gloag in the wake of the Perth bus tycoon’s ‘human trafficking’ charge.

Sarah Brown’s Twitter comments came after the Stagecoach co-founder was charged as part of an alleged human trafficking investigation.

The 80-year-old multi-millionaire and philanthropist is one of four people accused of immigration offences.

It’s understood her husband David McCleary, stepdaughter and daughter-in-law Sarah Gloag and son-in-law Paul McNeil have also been charged.

Public support from former PM’s wife

On Saturday, Mrs Brown wrote: “Gordon and I have known Ann Gloag for many years through her huge personal commitment to Freedom from Fistula and supporting girls’ health and education.

“She is a remarkable campaigner and quietly generous charity supporter.

“These charges just don’t add up.”

Gordon and Sarah Brown in Dalgety Bay. Image: Kim Cessford/DC Thomson.

Mrs Brown’s tweet was met with criticism from several observers, including Welfare Scotland chair Rob McDowall, who questioned her decision to comment on the case and namecheck the ex-Labour leader and Fife native.

He wrote: “Surely as Sarah Brown is the wife of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown she shouldn’t be commenting on the recent decision of police to charge Stagecoach’s Ann Gloag?

“How inappropriate.

“And I know Sarah is known in her own right but the fact she mentions Gordon in the way she does, it makes this even worse.”

Allegations disputed

A spokesman for Miss Gloag – interviewed by officers on Thursday – said she “strongly disputed” the allegations made against her.

He said: “Whilst we cannot comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, Dame Ann strongly disputes the malicious allegations that have been made against her, her foundation and members of her family, and will vigorously defend herself and the work of her foundation to protect her legacy and continue her work helping thousands of people in the UK and abroad every year.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On January 19, 2023, four individuals were charged in connection with an investigation into alleged human trafficking and immigration offences.

“A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Stagecoach is Britain’s biggest bus and coach firms which employs 24,000 people and operates 8,300 buses, coaches and trams across several countries.

It was founded in 1980 after Miss Gloag bought a school bus and her brother Sir Brian Souter used his father’s redundancy money to buy two coaches.