THE head of Glasgow Housing Association has been condemned by MSPs of all parties after angry exchanges with a solicitor representing tenants in sub-standard flats, dismissing him as an "ambulance chaser" and refusing all further communication.

Michael Lennon's blunt rejection as "cheap stuff" pleas from Mike Dailly, principal solicitor at Govan Law Centre, on behalf of tenants in multi-storey blocks at Ibrox was described variously as disgraceful, inappropriate, surprising, and unprofessional by Glasgow MSPs across the political spectrum.

Gordon Jackson, the local Labour MSP and a senior lawyer himself, said: "It is ridiculous to call Mr Dailly an ambulance-chaser."

At the heart of growing bitterness between the lawyer and the GHA chief executive is the fate of tenants trapped in sub-standard accommodation on which the agency does not want to spend major sums as it may later decide to demolish them.

To illustrate his point, Mr Dailly emailed Mr Lennon inviting him to view photographs of the homes on the law centre's website and asking him: "How long before a child or adult needs to die from intolerable living conditions in Glasgow?"

This sparked a furious late-night rebuttal from the chief executive and his email was automatically forwarded to all the MSPs who were on Mr Dailly's original circulation list. It said: "Ambulance-chasing has many forms. This is cheap stuff. I won't reply again."

The GHA head stood by the remarks and said the solicitor's accusations of inaction by the agency was not only factually incorrect but insulting to staff and everyone involved.

(c) 2005, Newsquest (Herald & Times) Limited