Charity boss defends Dame Ann Gloag after Stagecoach tycoon charged over 'trafficking'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The boss of a charity supported by the Stagecoach bus tycoon Dame Ann Gloag has lent her support to the beleaguered ex-transport boss amid allegations of human trafficking.Dame Ann, 80, has said she "strongly disputes the malicious allegations" that she and three others were allegedly involved in a trafficking scheme.

The Stagecoach founder, who started the firm with her brother Brian Souter in 1980, has been charged following a Police Scotland investigation, with a report due to be sent to prosecutors.However, the executive director of the Open Door Foundation, a charity supported by the dame, has vowed to stand by the transport guru as she contests the allegations.

The charity provides emergency shelter to people who are at risk of human trafficking in Eastern Europe.Monica Boseff said Dame Ann had "compassion and high moral values", adding her support had directly assisted 260 Ukrainian women, children and elderly men who were at risk of being trafficked in 2021.Ms Boseff told the PA news agency: "I am in no doubt that without the generosity and support of Dame Ann Gloag, our organisation would not be able to continue its vital work helping some of society’s most vulnerable people.

Dame Ann’s compassion and high moral values have infused our work from the beginning and we will continue to stand by her while she fights to clear her name.“As recent high-profile cases have demonstrated, the issue of human trafficking is a very real and dangerous threat to women, men, boys and girls across Europe.