 | 'Sheriff Kathrine Mackie appeared unimpressed by the pleas. She was concerned by the social inquiry report's finding that Watson was "able to evidence very little victim awareness throughout the interview". He was well-aware of the short and long-term effects "on himself and his wife, but little victim awareness", she said.' Tom Gordon, Scottish Political Correspondent in the Herald, 23 rd September 2005. |  |
LORD Watson gambled on using the intimate details of his private life to wring sympathy from the courts and avoid prison, but in the end his arrogance and self-pity shone through.
In a meandering, and often florid, 45-minute plea in mitigation, Paul Burns tried to paint his client as a sad and remorseful figure who had turned to drink because of the pressures of public life and the sorrows within his marriage.
However, Watson's true character was revealed in a social inquiry report which showed he had little thought for those he might have incinerated.
Instead, he seemed more upset about his own future prospects.
Mr Burns began by saying Watson's crime remained "incomprehensible" to him, but he acknowledged that "alcohol clearly played a part".
Indeed, he said Watson had suffered a "blackout" and could remember nothing of the event.
Referring to a psychiatric report commissioned by the defence, Mr Burns said alcohol was "problematic" for Watson, though he was not a full-blown alcoholic with a dependency.
"Like a lot of people he may, indeed he has, crossed the line that separates alcohol from recreation into a problem."
His heavy drinking on the night of the fire meant it was likely he was "considerably disinhibited and . . . reckless as to the consequences of his actions".
Mr Burns suggested the fire would not have happened without alcohol, but tracing the precise motive or "logical path" was "a pointless exercise".
He then referred to a file of testimonials given by Watson's friends and colleagues, including a woman he had helped 18 years ago in a tribunal and a fellow director of Dundee United.
His "painful voyage of self-discovery" had led Watson to express his remorse to those friends and family, he said.
Summing up Watson's public service, Mr Burns said the peer was pained at having to quit the Scottish Parliament he so loved, and pointed out he had tried to bring the Euro 2008 football championships to Scotland, and helped create a National Theatre of Scotland and Bord na Gaidhlig.
The latter was Watson "doffing his cap to his Gaelic-speaking grandmother from Islay", he said.
Mr Burns then revealed that Watson and Clare, his third wife, who married in February last year, had suffered disappointment with IVF treatment.
After initial "wonderful news", there was a miscarriage in July, a few months before the fire.
"The loss of that child, a child who promised so much happiness and fulfilment, had an effect on him," he said.
Watson has no children by his previous two marriages.
Mr Burns said: "I strongly suspect that the disappointment added to difficulties he already had and although he is a robust and strong person, he is a human being and I suspect that took him to a lonely and a dark place."
Emphasising that Watson was a first offender, Mr Burns asked the court to consider a four-week postponement for a Crown psychiatric report, followed by a non-custodial sentence.
However, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie appeared unimpressed by the pleas.
She was concerned by the social inquiry report's finding that Watson was "able to evidence very little victim awareness throughout the interview".
He was well-aware of the short and long-term effects "on himself and his wife, but little victim awareness", she said.
Sheriff Mackie also pointed out Watson only admitted his part in the crime after being shown conclusive CCTV footage of it.
After adjourning for 15 minutes, Sheriff Mackie returned and said his actions had been deliberate and dangerous, and he posed a continuing threat.
In such circumstances, only a custodial sentence would do, and she sentenced him to 16 months.
As she finished, a Reliance officer handcuffed himself to Watson and led him down the steps behind the dock.
Watson's wife, who had been showing signs of strain through the hearing, broke down in tears, clutching the shoulder of Malcolm Brown, Watson's PR agent.
Outside the court, Mr Brown said Watson wanted to thank his wife for being "a rock" through recent months and thank "true friends" for standing by him.
With automatic early release, Watson can expect to be out of jail by May 2006.
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