CRAIG LEVEIN CLAIMS GORDON BROWN ATTENDED EXORCISM TO SIGN PLAYER

Craig Levein, a former Scotland manager, has said that Gordon Brown attended an event involving the "casting out" of demons in 2006 while trying to help Raith Rovers sign the defender Marvin Andrews. Levein made the claim on the Under The Cosh podcast, saying Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, phoned him and arranged to meet in a car park in Kirkcaldy before driving him to the Zion Praise Centre. Andrews, who was out of contract at the time, was working at the church that evening. Brown is described as a committed supporter of Raith Rovers, the Fife football club. Levein said he had expected simply to meet Andrews, not to witness a religious service.

According to Levein, the Zion Praise Centre was run by Pastor Joe Nwokoye, whom he described as Andrews's spiritual mentor. Levein said people on stage experienced "wailing" and fell backwards as the pastor placed his hands on their heads, with around six people left lying on the ground. He called it the "most bizarre evening" he had experienced. Andrews is described as devoutly religious. Levein recalled that, during an earlier spell at Rangers, Andrews had reportedly declined surgery for a cruciate ligament injury after his pastor told him God would heal him, and continued playing without insurance cover at that time.

The account, relayed second-hand by Levein, does not confirm whether Andrews subsequently joined Raith Rovers. No comment from Gordon Brown, Marvin Andrews or Pastor Joe Nwokoye is included in the reports. The claim surfaced publicly through Levein's podcast appearance rather than through any statement from those directly involved.