LORD Watson of Invergowrie, the convicted fire-raiser, has broken his silence over Jeremy Corbyn’s controversial decision to appoint him to Labour’s front-bench, insisting he should now be allowed to “move on” with his life.
Last week, the Labour leader sparked criticism when he made the former Scottish MP, MSP and Minister the party's Education Spokesman in the House of Lords. His office made clear Mr Corbyn believed in rehabilitation and that his colleague should now be allowed to play a full role in public life.
The SNP branded the appointment “bizarre” while Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative Chairman, said it appeared to confirm that Mr Corbyn had a "fondness for people with criminality in their blood”, referring to Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness as well as Isis and Argentinian dictators.
The Labour leader has expressed support for a united Ireland, opposed the UK bombing of militant extremists in Syria and was against the 1982 Falklands War.
In 2005, Lord Watson admitted setting fire to a curtain at The Herald’s Scottish Politician of the Year event a few months earlier at the five-star Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh; staff had refused to serve him more alcohol. He was sentenced to 16 month’s imprisonment but served only half the term.
The Culture Minister in Jack McConnell’s administration resigned from Holyrood and was expelled from the Labour Party. Parliamentary rules meant he was allowed to keep his life peerage and he sat as an independent before being readmitted to Labour three years ago.
The disgraced peer only apologised for his crime on his release from prison, blaming the fire-raising incident on stress, saying his wife had recently lost a baby. He insisted that he had “no idea” why he had caused the hotel fire but admitted to feeling “tremendous remorse”.
Commenting on his return to frontline politics, Lord Watson, 66, said: “If sentences mean anything I would say that when you have dealt with them, you move on with your life and should be allowed to.
“That is Jeremy Corbyn’s view; that it’s only fair people are given a chance to get on with their lives. It’s 11 years ago; it’s a long time ago. My life has moved on. Other people should be prepared to see that time has moved on,” argued the peer.
He added: “Some people have made a point about me being a Scot responsible for English education. Let me say, I am now domiciled in London; I have a little boy who goes to school in London, so I’m qualified on both of those(points). But ultimately, it’s a question of moving on with my life and that is what I want to do.”
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