 | 'The potential for serious injury to guests and staff was considerable.' Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, 22 nd September 2005 |  |
| 'The potential for serious injury to guests and staff was considerable.' Sheriff Kathrine Mackie, 22 nd September 2005 | |
THE drunken lord who started a fire in a posh hotel was jailed for 16 months yesterday.
A judge said Labour peer Mike Watson, 56, had Òendangered livesÓ.
He was locked away after a social report showed he presented Òa significant risk of re-offendingÓ.
Ashen-faced Watson was handcuffed in the dock after being sent down at EdinburghÕs Sheriff Court.
His wife Clare, 31, sobbed as he was led to court cells before being taken to the cityÕs tough Saughton prison.
The disgraced lord was immediately booted out of the Labour Party.
He had already resigned as a Member of the Scottish Parliament after pleading guilty to fire-raising at an earlier hearing. But he will keep his peerage.
Watson, a former Scottish tourism minister, started the blaze at EdinburghÕs Prestonfield House Hotel in the early hours last November.
He had been to a boozy awards dinner and was said to be in a drunken 'blackout'.
The kilted peer was caught on the hotelÕs CCTV holding up a lamp to inspect curtains in a reception area.
He slipped what was thought to be a box of matches into his sporran.
The curtain burst into flames and damage worth £4,500 was caused before the fire was put out.
Defence lawyer Paul Burns said Watson had suffered a booze-induced memory loss and could not explain why he did it.
Mr Burns also claimed the three-times-wed peer had a drink problem and had been devastated when Clare lost a baby.
But Sheriff Kathrine Mackie branded WatsonÕs actions 'deliberate and dangerous'.
She said: 'The potential for serious injury to guests and staff was considerable.'
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