Steven Purcell - The story moves along - Part 2

I sometimes wonder how closely we are expected to read newspaper reports before we can arrive at any sort of conclusion.

William Haughey has apparently said this to the Sunday Herald. It includes this apparently throw away indirect quote:

"But Mr Haughey insisted he not spoken to or helped Mr Purcell since his breakdown."

Yes, the grammar is theirs, not mine...

On the other hand, The Sunday Times claims this

Which says, inter alia:

"
NINE days ago Willie Haughey, one of Labour’s biggest donors and an ally of Gordon Brown, was spotted at a secret crisis meeting in a pub car park in the south of the Glasgow. He was flanked by two smartly dressed businessmen. Nearby, a plump man sat in a car, clearly agitated.

Haughey, the Scottish businessman, who built his £100m fortune out of a refrigeration business, was in a sombre mood as he spoke to the two men. The outcome was clear: the career of Steven Purcell, the plump man in question and one of Labour’s brightest stars, was over.

Purcell, 37, afraid and tearful, had already stood down as council leader of Glasgow, Britain’s fourth largest city. Friends had urged him to stay on as a councillor and rebuild his career.

Haughey, who has given more than £1m to Labour, and the two other men ordained a more drastic option. It would be announced later that Purcell’s career in local politics was over. “By then he will be out of the country,” said one of those present."

Well, even if both stories are completely accurate, they don't actually contradict each other, do they, dear reader?

The joys of go betweens and deniability, or a load of hooey? Spotted by whom, for instance, seems a reasonable question? Is it not the case that before a story like this is run there ought to be two independent sources?  Or do have we a local version of Deep Throat in play here?

And who, exactly were the two smartly dressed businessmen? The way it is written it would seem that they were a party to the decision.

It seems to me that the steam is still building on this story.