THE chief whip of the largest Labour-run administration in Scottish local government has been sacked in the first clear out move by the new regime running Glasgow.

James Adams was told by the recently appointed leader of Glasgow City Council he was no longer required in the post, with an email then sent to fellow Labour councillors telling them he was leaving the job.

Mr Adams had been an ally of former council boss Gordon Matheson and been a key figure in rival campaigns against Mr McAveety in the leadership contest.

He has also been seen as one of those in the administration closest to Labour's 'Scottish machine'.

Mr McAveety was made leader exactly a month ago but has yet to announce his new cabinet.

However The Herald understands there is unlikely to be any roles for the two contenders during the leadership race, social work convener Malcolm Cunning and head of education Stephen Curran.

A senior source said: "James didn't have the confidence of the leader to be the whip and was asked to leave his post.

"There was a feeling that being at the centre of things throughout the summer he wouldn't have had the confidence of the group.

"This now paves the way for Frank to get his own team in place and that'll be announced soon."

Another source, close to Mr Adams, added: "Frank thought it would be best if James wasn't business manager. He accepted that so has ceased to be business manager. He'll not be wanting to make any public comments though."