- Mike Watson
Michael Goodall Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie, known as Mike Watson, (born
1 May ,1949 ) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He has sat in three legislatures in theUnited Kingdom and served asMinister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in theScottish Executive Cabinet.He was expelled from his party on
22 September 2005 following his conviction and imprisonment for fire-raising. He now sits as an Independent Labour member of theHouse of Lords and is an Associate Director of the Edinburgh public affairs and communications companyCaledonia Consulting .Early life
Mike Watson was born in
Cambuslang ,South Lanarkshire , but his family moved toInvergowrie ,Perth and Kinross when he was very young. He was educated at theHigh School of Dundee andHeriot-Watt University ,Edinburgh , graduating with a B.A. in Economics and Industrial Relations (1974).Prior to entering politics he worked in the
trade union movement, for theWorkers' Educational Association , theAssociation of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) and theManufacturing, Science and Finance union (MSF).In politics
He was elected to the
Parliament of the United Kingdom in a1989 by-election for the Glasgow Central constituency. He was re-elected in the 1992 election and represented that constituency until it was abolished in1997 . He sought the nomination from the Labour party to run for theGovan seat in1997 , but after initially winning the nomination by one vote, he lost a re-run toMohammad Sarwar .In 1997 he received a
Life peer age as Baron Watson of Invergowrie, of Invergowrie inPerth and Kinross .In
1999 Lord Watson was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent the Glasgow Cathcart constituency and was re-elected in2003 . On20 July 1999 Watson announced his intention to introduce the "Protection of Wild Mammals" bill as a member's bill to the Scottish Parliament to outlawfox hunting . The bill passed a vote 83 - 26 on13 February 2002 and receivedRoyal Assent on15 March , becoming theProtection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 and becoming law on1 August . This was a precursor to theHunting Act 2004 banning fox hunting in England and Wales.When
Jack McConnell became First Minister in 2001, Watson entered theScottish Executive as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, until the 2003 election.Fire-raising conviction
On
15 November 2004 , Lord Watson was charged with two counts of "wilful fire-raising" (theScots law equivalent ofarson ) after a private reception atEdinburgh 'sPrestonfield Hotel following theScottish Politician of the Year awards on12 November . The first alleged that he set fire to a curtain in the hotel's reception, and the second that he set fire to a curtain in the hotel's Yellow Room. On being charged, the Labour whip was suspended in the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments. After initially registering not guilty pleas to both charges on23 August 2005 , on1 September he changed his plea on the first count to guilty, and had a not guilty plea accepted on the second charge. On the same day that Lord Watson admitted his guilt, he resigned from the Scottish Parliament. He also resigned as a director of Dundee United Football Club.However, it is not possible for a life peer to resign from the
House of Lords , which has led to calls for legislation to enable those peers convicted of criminal offences to be stripped of their titles. Such legislation was last proposed following the conviction ofJeffrey Archer forperjury in 2001, but was then rejected.On
22 September 2005 , Lord Watson was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment. He will be prevented from standing again as an MSP, having received a custodial sentence exceeding one year. SheriffKathrine Mackie justified the sentence, stating that there was both "a significant risk of re-offending" and that Lord Watson offered no mitigation or explanation. She also told Lord Watson that consumption of alcohol "neither excuses nor fully explains your behavior." Lord Watson appealed against his sentence on23 March ,2006 but the appeal judges refused to cut the term, and he was returned to prison.After serving eight months of his sentence, he was released on
23 May 2006 .Later life
In January 2007 Lord Watson was appointed as an Associate Director with Caledonia Consulting and continues to attend the House of Lords on a regular basis.
Bibliography
* Watson, Mike (1985). . David Winter & Sons, Dundee ISBN 0-902804-18-
* Watson, Mike (1992). Rags to Riches (updated version). David Winter & Sons, Dundee ISBN 0-902804-18-9
* Watson, Mike (1997). The Tannadice Encyclopedia. Mainstream, Edinburgh ISBN 1-85158-996-1
* Watson, Mike (2001). . Polygon at Edinburgh. ISBN 1-902930-26-6.External links
* [http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5032536.html MSP charged after blaze claims] - at Evening Times Online (published 15 November 2004)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4204186.stm Peer pleads guilty to fire charge] - at BBC News online (published 1 September 2005)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4269808.stm Fire-raising peer sent to prison] - at BBC News online (published 22 September 2005)
* [http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2387472005 Appeal announced on duration of sentence] - from The Scotsman Mon 12 Dec 2005 by John Innes
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