THE Press understands Fife Council staff organised a leaving do at the Glen Pavilion yesterday (Wednesday) despite it being a clear breach of current coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

A whistleblower who wished to remain anonymous contacted the Press on the morning of the function to say that the send-off for a senior member of staff had been organised at the Pavilion for 3pm.

It's thought alcohol and food were being made available for more than 10 people attending.

As well as reporting the prospective breach to the Press, the source also contacted Crimestoppers.

The gathering was cancelled at short notice after the Press contacted the council.

Yesterday morning, a member of staff at the Glen Pavilion confirmed to the Press that an event was taking place later that day.

Fife Council's head of customer services, Diarmuid Cotter, confirmed that an event had been due to take place.

He said: "A meeting was planned but it's not going ahead given the restrictions now in place."

Such a gathering would have been a clear breach of current COVID restrictions where, since January 5, the order has been to "stay at home" and only leave for essential purposes or exercise.

Current Scottish Government restrictions only allow meetings of two people from two separate households for exercise while wedding ceremonies and civil partnership registrations can take place with a maximum capacity of five people – including the couple, the witnesses and the person conducting the ceremony – provided the venue’s capacity allows for two metre physical distancing.

Earlier this month, the council's chief executive, Steve Grimmond, told councillors "that unless more significant restrictions to limit human interaction were put in place, we were likely to see rising COVID levels here and growing pressure on health services".

Back in November, when Fife was placed in tier 3 of lockdown restrictions, Mr Grimmond said: “We have to act now, and we have to act together. We can make a difference and help stop the spread of the virus by following the public health guidance. Level three restrictions will not be easy to live with but it’s vital that we stick with this if we are to have hope of easing restrictions before Christmas.”