ALLOWING the welfare benefits test company Atos to sponsor the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is a "major mistake" which could mire the event in controversy, a city politician has warned.
Billy McAllister, deputy leader of the SNP group on Glasgow City Council, said the company was inflicting suffering on his constituents, and he could no longer stay silent on the issue.
McAllister, who represents the Canal ward in the deprived Maryhill area, attacked Atos in a letter sent last week to Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg.
The comments reflect growing dissent in the SNP over Atos's involvement with the Games.
When Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled Atos as a sponsor 18 months ago, she welcomed its role as a "significant step forward" for the £550 million festival of sport.
The French IT giant will supply software to accredit 70,000 athletes, volunteers and officials, and run the Glasgow 2014 website.
However, Atos has been dogged by rows over its subsidiary Atos Healthcare and its work for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Atos Healthcare has a £110m contract to run work capability assessments on the sick and disabled, and a £400m deal to assess mobility benefits.
Critics say the tests are flawed, degrading and inefficient, with one in six passed as fit to work winning an appeal against the decision.
In June, Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia said it was wrong of Atos to be "profiting when sick and disabled people are suffering", adding: "There are many in this city who question the wisdom of having them as sponsors of the Commonwealth Games".
In his letter, McAllister said 2200 people had died while being assessed by Atos and thousands of others had been "impoverished" by benefit cuts following its tests.
He wrote: "To appoint Atos as a major sponsor for the Commonwealth Games (done by the organising committee) was … a major mistake and could lead to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games being mired in controversy."
McAllister told the Sunday Herald he had been moved to write after some of his constituents said they felt suicidal after Atos tests.
"Atos shouldn't have anything to do with the biggest event of recent times in Glasgow.
"They're doing the dirty on the most vulnerable people in society. They have no compassion.
"I'm disgusted with them and I want rid of them from the Games. They're not a fit sponsor."
He said others in the SNP felt likewise. "A lot of people are raising concerns."
Atos's sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics prompted widespread protests.
Demonstrators recently occupied the Glasgow 2014 headquarters and one of Sturgeon's constituency surgeries in Glasgow's Southside.
Sean Clerkin of Glasgow Against Atos, which is behind the sponsorship protests, said: "We've very pleased by Cllr McAllister's letter.
"Atos must be dropped as a sponsor, because they destroy lives by taking the poorest and most vulnerable people off benefits."
Atos, which employs 1500 people in Scotland, stressed it only carried out tests set by the DWP, and that it was also the DWP which made decisions on benefit levels.
"We are proud of what our business technologists deliver for all our clients in Scotland across a wide range of business sectors and to be an official supporter of the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee providing Games management systems and Games information systems."
A Glasgow 2014 spokeswoman added: "We are very proud to have global IT experts Atos as part of Glasgow 2014's sponsor family.
"As a worldwide IT partner for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the company has demonstrated unwavering commitment to driving forward the Paralympic movement by providing dedicated practical support to athletes for the last 10 years."
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