Remaining section of Glasgow fire building to be demolished

The remaining section of a historic Glasgow building wrecked by fire will have to be demolished.

Glasgow City Council said the decision was made due to concerns over public safety, with parts of the building on Union Corner continuing to fall off since Sunday's blaze.

The local authority took control of the building from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service earlier and was able to carry out an assessment of the damaged structure for the first time.

The fire spread from a vape shop on Union Street through the B-listed Victorian building on Sunday night, leaving it in ruins. Firefighters remain at the scene to continue to cool any remaining hot spots.

In a statement, the local authority said: "We are now in control of the Union Street site, and after a full and final assessment of the remaining structure, has decided that demolition must happen in the interests of public safety.

"Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are still on site to take care of remaining hot spots."

There were no casualties in the incident.

The news came as the Scottish government announced a ministerial board was being established to co-ordinate recovery efforts.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance will chair the board, which is tasked with supporting recovery efforts in the most effective way. Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow City Council, will join the group's meetings.

It will also oversee the development of a support package to aid in the recovery process.

Constance said: ""The fire has left a scene of ruin in the heart of Glasgow and I am determined that the Scottish government will stand with the city as it recovers.

"The ministerial board has been established to co-ordinate the Scottish government's response.

"There are the immediate issues of making the site safe and the recovery of the transport network, with significant ongoing work to return rail and road systems back to normality as soon as possible."

She added that the board will also look at the wider impact of the blaze, such as the effect on businesses.

Some train services at Glasgow Central Station - which is next to the destroyed building - resumed on Wednesday after the weekend fire.

The station's low level platforms, which serve the Argyle line north of the River Clyde, reopened after a full site assessment, but the main high level station is to remain closed for the rest of the week due to the "high level of instability" of the fire-damaged facade.