TIE’s ex-spin doctor finds new job

The former head spin doctor at tram firm TIE has secured a new job.

Mandy Haeburn-Little, who was appointed director of communications at TIE in June 2009 but left earlier this year, has become director of the Scottish Business Crime Centre (SBCC). The group is a non-profit-making organisation created in 1996 to establish a partnership approach between the police, business community and Scottish Government.

In a statement, the SBCC said: “Mandy has worked in a range of companies including Standard Life, the water authority and Edinburgh Trams.

“Mandy ran her own business for a seven-year period and also has experience in public, private and charitable sectors.”

The departure of Ms Haeburn-Little, who is thought to have been on a salary band of between £120,000 and £139,000, had provided a further sign that the entire tram project was steadily being moved under the direct control of the council.

The Evening News revealed yesterday that the total cost of making TIE staff redundant has now exceeded £2.1 million, although Ms Haeburn-Little has said she neither applied for nor was offered a severance deal.