THE leader of Inverclyde Council has slammed the Scottish Government for failing to support jobs in the district following several 'no shows' from a high profile minister.

Greenock Telegraph: EE contact centre in Greenock.

Stephen McCabe has hit out in the wake of the bombshell announcement last week that mobile phone giant EE is set to move its 450-strong Greenock workforce out of the town.

As the grim news broke First Minister Humza Yousaf vowed that his government would do all it could to support jobs and the local economy.

But Councillor McCabe has taken aim at Mr Yousaf's administration over its failure to respond to a bid for financial aid made by the cross-party Inverclyde Taskforce.

Meanwhile, former economy secretary Neil Gray has pulled out of several scheduled visits to Inverclyde in the last year, the council leader has revealed.

In yet another blow, council chief executive Louise Long was also due to meet with Mr Gray and MSP Stuart McMillan last Thursday - the day of the EE closure announcement - but this was also cancelled.

EE is the latest in a line of employers to leave Inverclyde, including Amazon, IBM and the Berry BPI plastics factory.

Greenock Telegraph:

Mr McCabe said: "I note the assurances given by the First Minister, but we were given similar assurances over Amazon and there has been no concrete financial support for Inverclyde to help with the creation of replacement jobs.

"We have been waiting for six months for the Scottish Government to respond to the funding requests submitted by the Inverclyde Taskforce.

"I invited the economy secretary Neil Gray to visit Inverclyde all those months ago and he has cancelled on us several times, including in the last week.

"He was also due to meet our chief executive in Edinburgh along with Stuart McMillan and again that meeting was cancelled - when the chief executive was already on her way."

READ MORE: Greenock staff at EE left 'shocked' and 'angry by closure

Michael Matheson resigned from his role as health secretary on the say of the EE announcement, throwing the government into chaos, and Mr Gray was later appointed to the health brief.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government and its agencies invest in Inverclyde and are committed to working with Inverclyde Council to stimulate economic growth in the area.

“Ministers participate in the work of the Inverclyde Task Force to examine new ways of enabling a successful and sustainable wellbeing economy. The minister for small business, innovation, tourism and trade [Richard Lochhead] will meet the Task Force again later this month.

“This will be an anxious time for employees at EE in Greenock and for their families. Scottish Enterprise is speaking to EE to seek clarity on its plans.”