We have today been informed that the Daily Record intend to run a piece on historic tweets made by voluntary contributors to Heart and Hand – some of which are over 10 years old. The journalist in question, Mark McGivern, has a long track record of dredging up such material in attempts to find negative stories about Rangers and its supporters.
Nevertheless, if any offence has been caused, we apologise unreservedly.
Having sought legal advice, we have been advised that the tweets in question do not pass the threshold for any further action to be taken. We do, once again, apologise should anyone interpret the tone or content of the tweets to be offensive. It is obvious that these are not representative of the values and ethos of our beloved 150 year old club.
As you are aware, Heart and Hand has no formal structure and relies on a network of voluntary contributors. We have spearheaded a number of campaigns for social justice and are proud of the diversity of our contributors who come from all backgrounds. There are countless examples of men and women who will praise the Heart and Hand community for the benefit they have brought them in areas such as mental health and wellbeing, support and employability as well as isolation through lockdown.
Whilst we recognise that some of the historic tweets are regrettable, we note the continuing premeditated attack against Rangers FC and anyone associated with it. This situation was not borne of genuine offence but rather a desire to hurt the club and those associated with it.
Frankly, it says more about the Daily Record and how it views Rangers and its supporters than it does about us. We await fan media of other Scottish clubs being held to the same standard.
