THE Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who was recently mistaken for a jewel thief, spent three hours in a Spanish police station after being robbed on Barcelona beach.
The Right Reverend Lorna Hood was unharmed after her bag was stolen while she was on annual leave, but the episode prompted the her to tweet about her ordeal.
Mrs Hood had a separate close encounter with the law a few months ago when she went to a jewellers in Edinburgh to size a replica of her ceremonial ring, which had earlier been stolen from her luggage at an airport.
Staff at the jewellers' shop called police after recognising the ring but not the Moderator.
Mrs Hood had hoped to catch up on reading on her break but her Kindle was in the stolen bag, which also contained euros and clothing.
The Moderator, who opened her Twitter account this week and is gaining about 100 followers a day, despite being on holiday, tweeted: "A suspected international jewel thief and now a victim of crime on Barcelona beach - glad to be on other side of the law."
The 59-year-old mother of two from Irvine, Ayrshire, who was included on a list of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Radio 4's Woman's Hour, then tweeted: "Even more delighted that official Moderator's ring not in the stolen bag but safe and sound. Moderators and bags! What a responsibility!"
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