A SENIOR Glasgow City Council officer has taken early retirement after being suspended as part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities within the local authority.

Marjorie Miller, manager of the city's business advice team, is now expected to avoid disciplinary proceedings.

Concerns had been raised over an award of financial assistance to a firm linked with her husband, who runs a freelance photography firm from their home.

Ms Miller was the third leading official to be suspended in connection with the alleged financial irregularities and had been absent from work due to the suspension since November last year.

Colleagues Kaiser Khan and Evelyn Beck had earlier been suspended as part of the investigation, which already goes back several years.

The unit, part of ­Development And Regeneration Services (DRS), helps start up business by providing grants, loans and other assistance.

The inquiry began during routine auditing and has since extended into other areas where council staff have been working with further and higher education institutions.

Part of the inquiry was examining allegations that officers were hiring themselves as freelance business consultants to firms they had assisted. Another worker, sacked earlier this year for hiring his daughter as a consultant, is also being investigated.

Ms Miller has already left the council.

The council is expected to be allowed to conclude its own probe into senior DRS staff before any possible Police Scotland investigation. The council refused to comment, describing it as a 'private matter.'