A FORMER college principal at the centre of a row over severance payments has launched an outspoken attack on Scotland's public spending watchdog.

John Doyle, the former head of Coatbridge College, in North Lanarkshire, accused Auditor General Caroline Gardner of making "vexatious statements" about him in a report on the college.

And both he and John Gray, the former chairman of the college, denied any wrongdoing in the way the severance payments were made to senior staff.

Mr Doyle and a number of other senior managers shared £850,000 in pay offs as part of a severance package when the college merged with two others in 2013 to form New College Lanarkshire.

In June, Ms Gardner issued a highly-critical report of the severance deals - which included £304,000 to Mr Doyle.

The Herald:

The former Coatbridge College, in North Lanarkshire.

Ms Gardner said she believed Mr Doyle and Mr Gray had colluded in order to "achieve a certain outcome" by withholding important information from the college's remuneration committee.

Mr Doyle angrily refuted the claims during an evidence session held by the Scottish Parliament's public audit committee, which is investigating the payments.

He told MSPs the reputation of senior managers had been "absolutely trashed when we have done nothing wrong".

Mr Doyle said he had enjoyed an "unblemished career and reputation" during almost 40 years of public service up until the publication of the auditor general's report.

This included nine years as principal and chief executive of Coatbridge College, where Mr Doyle said he had been very proud to have been working with a professional and highly motivated team of managers, lecturers and support staff.

He said: "I take great exception to the conclusions reached and vexatious statements made by the auditor general about myself, John Gray and the senior team."

Mr Doyle also said Ms Gardner's accusations had been "totally unfounded", and that the severance packages had been based on a scheme that had been set out for staff in all four Lanarkshire colleges in the event of mergers.

And he said the potential conflict of interest had led him and the clerk to the board to "completely discharge our respective duties" at the point when the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government raised concerns about the existence of two voluntary severance schemes.

The legal firm Biggart and Baillie had handled the issue, he said, because of the clear conflict of interests in him having any influence over the terms of his severance package.

Mr Gray, who also gave evidence to the committee, said he "totally rejected" the auditor general's conclusions, and questioned why she had made such "emphatic and terse conclusions without at least the courtesy of discussing the situation with the two people being criticised".