The Herald Group has reinstated Angela Haggerty as a columnist.
Haggerty was removed last month after tweeting her support of Graham Spiers who left the publisher after refusing to back over a column alleging that a West of Scotland football club director felt that The Billy Boys was a wonderful song.
The decision to sack Haggerty attracted criticism throughout the UK media industry with Magnus Llewellin the main subject of criticism.
In a statement after being sacked Haggerty explained: “When I see a colleague of my trade being subjected to the same abuse I’ve experienced – and I know how much pressure that can bring on a person – I won’t hesitate in showing support and condemning those online taking part in it.
“The decision to sack me must have been rapid. I was given no opportunity to state my case. When I finally spoke to Magnus Llewellin, it was simply to inform me of the reasons behind the decision, it wasn’t really a discussion.
“He informed me that ‘representatives of Rangers Football Club’ had brought my tweets to the attention of the Herald, and that, to cut a long story short, the paper was under so much legal pressure that he felt he had no option but to let me go.
I’m pleased to let Sunday Herald readers know that @AngelaHaggerty will be returning as a columnist from this weekend. Read her on Sunday
— NeilMackay (@NeilMackay) February 18, 2016
“He also informed me that Neil MacKay, editor of the Sunday Herald, had fought strongly to stop it happening, but in the end he was overruled.
“You have to ask who the winner out of this is. In this episode, it’s Rangers Football Club, but on a wider level it exposes the influence of corporate interests in our media. In the current financial landscape, that influence is ever more prominent.”
Last night the Sunday Herald tweeted that Haggerty would be returning to the newspaper this weekend.
