Peer started hotel fire after drinking spree at dinner
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on December 15, 2007
The career of a Labour politician was in ruins last night after he admitted setting fire to a hotel when he was told he could not have more alcohol.
Lord Watson of Invergowrie, 56, is to resign from the Scottish Parliament and as a director of Dundee United and could be sent to prison when he is sentenced later this month.
The court was told that he set fire to a curtain after he was refused more drink at the Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh after last November’s Scottish Politician of the Year awards.
The MSP for Glasgow Cathcart was caught on closed circuit television crouching at the base of the curtain before it was engulfed in flames.
Supported by his third wife, Clare, he watched the 10-minute video without expression yesterday as the footage was played to Edinburgh sheriff court.
The fire caused damage of about ï¿¡4,500 before it was extinguished by hotel staff, but could have been much more serious. An expert witness said it had endangered the lives of hotel guests.
Tags: curta, curtain, flamesRelated posts
Leave a Reply