A BUS operations manager has been sacked by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport after claims she was in a relationship with the director of a cleaning company working for the organisation.

Ann-Marie Waugh, 46, was dismissed earlier this week following a disciplinary hearing after it was discovered she was allegedly having an affair with John McPherson, who runs the Scottish arm of UK services company GBM.

Mrs Waugh had also failed to declare she was related to the operations manager of another firm, Sasse, which has a £2.3 million contract with SPT to clean the subway, bus and office premises.

She was removed from her post as senior operations officer at Glasgow's Buchanan Bus Station, which SPT operates, earlier this month after the claims were brought to the attention of management. It was not clear last night whether she will appeal against the dismissal.

However, SPT, which is still recovering from an expenses scandal two years ago, denied any impropriety in the award of contracts to either firm.

It is understood Mrs Waugh's dismissal, which concluded with a hearing on Thursday, was decided upon because she had not declared her alleged relationship to Mr McPherson or her brother Raymond McLean, an operations manager at Sasse.

An SPT spokeswoman said: "A member of staff has been dismissed following the conclusion of an extensive investigation conducted internally. As this is a staff matter, there will be no further comment at this stage. I would stress the investigation concluded that there was no impropriety in relation to SPT's procurement process."

Mrs Waugh was recruited by SPT's former chief executive Ron Culley – one of three to quit due to the expenses scandal –after working as office manager for former Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander.

However, although SPT denied there was any impropriety surrounding her appointment and insisted the post was advertised, it is thought to have caused resentment among some staff.

Mrs Waugh could not be contacted for comment last night and both Mr McPherson and Mr McLean declined to comment. However, a source close to Mr McLean's family denied there was any improper relationship and said Mrs Waugh was estranged from her brother.

The source also claimed she fell foul of a whispering campaign by other staff members who resented her appointment. "SPT is a very political beast and it's easy to make enemies. There was a lot of politics involved when she got the job and people are getting their own back," the source said.

A source at SPT confirmed the tip-off to management had been made anonymously, saying: "She was targeted by an anonymous letter which highlighted her relationships with these people. She had no role in either contract but did have a working relationship with these people in her current role. She was fundamentally in breach of the staff code of conduct."

SPT, funded and run by 12 councils in the west of Scotland, announced the award of a £450,000 contract to GBM last December to clean the subway's fleet, with work commencing at the beginning of this year.

A three-year contract worth £2.3m was awarded to Sasse in May 2010 for a combined cleaning contract the organisation said was aimed at achieving "cost efficiencies".

There was no response at Mrs Waugh's house in Bishopbriggs when The Herald called last night.