Glasgow council leader blames 'wee ned with spray can' for graffiti problems as COP26 approaches

Susan Aitken was responding to criticism COP26 global delegates will see Glasgow in a poor light due to the graffiti problem the city currently faces post-pandemic.

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11:40, 24 SEP 2021
Updated17:50, 24 SEP 2021

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The leader of Glasgow City Council has responded to criticism that delegates attending the COP26 climate summit will see the city in a poor light by lamenting how long it takes teams to clean up graffiti caused by a 'wee ned with a spray can'.

Susan Aitken made the comments on BBC Scotland's The Nine programme last night after being asked about the amount of graffiti near the SEC, which will play host to the summit - the biggest event of its kind ever held in the UK - in November.

Responding to concerns over the graffiti problem Glasgow is currently facing post-pandemic, she said: "I often see people posting about fly-tipping or something, but what's never responded to is how long did it take us to clear that up once it was reported to us? The answer is usually a couple of days. It used to be 28 days.

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"Graffiti is a particular issue and we have had - and again not unique to Glasgow - but graffiti and vandalism has absolutely spiralled during the pandemic. It's not the council who is carrying out that graffiti. What takes, to be perfectly honest, a wee ned with a spray can half an hour to do, can take our teams three days to clean up. It is incredibly resource intensive.

"That doesn't mean to say that we are not doing it. Graffiti removal was one of the things that took a back seat during the pandemic because we had significant constraints on our staffing."

Meanwhile, in respect of the graffiti problem next to the SEC Centre, she added: "There is literally work going on just now to do all of that. We are dealing with this and as we recover and as we move towards COP26 and COP26 taking place we are also recovering and our services are coming back on."

Her comments come after she faced calls to resign after denying that Glasgow is in the grip of a cleansing crisis.

Amid growing complaints over rat infestations and anger over rubbish and fly-tipping on the streets, the leader of the council said that Glasgow's streets are "not filthy" and just "need a spruce up".

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