(Fire..........bad!)
Labour peer jailed for setting fire to curtain
LONDON (Reuters) - A Lord was sentenced to 16 months in jail on Thursday for deliberately setting fire to a curtain in a hotel after a boozy night out in Edinburgh.
Labour peer Mike Watson pleaded guilty to starting the blaze in the early hours of November 12 last year following a ceremony in the Scottish capital to celebrate the Scottish Politician of the Year awards.
During his trial, the court was shown closed circuit television footage of a figure dressed in a kilt, crouching at the base of the curtain which moments later burst into flames.
The figure was shown placing something in his sporran, the pouch which Scots traditionally wear over their kilts. The prosecution alleged it was a box of matches.
Watson's lawyer accepted his client had drunk "more than was wise" on the evening in question.
Experts told the court the blaze caused 4,500 pounds of damage and had endangered lives.
Watson, 56, has since resigned his seat in the Scottish parliament and his post as director of Scottish football club Dundee United.
My other blogs:
No comments:
Post a Comment