Scottish News of the World Staff Reportedly on 'Gardening Leave'

Former News of the World staff at its Scottish HQ are reported to have been put on 'gardening leave'.

According to today's Herald, all the workers who operated on the north of the Border version have been placed on 'gardening leave' for three months following publication, two days ago, of the title's final edition.

But, says a senior source at the paper, the 21 staff – plus half dozen or so regular casuals – have not, as is suggested, been asked to steer clear of the paper's Glasgow HQ, which is also home to the remainder of the News International Scottish operation, even though the News of the World office itself has been locked down.

Individual redundancy packages are reportedly being devised with no new jobs yet in the pipeline for the Glasgow-based staff.

The move comes less than a week after the decision was taken to shut down the biggest-selling UK-wide newspaper in light of ongoing allegations over phone hacking and payments to police.