 | 'Although two of them (stills from the CCTV footage) appear to feature me, I'm not doing anything wrong and the other two are inconclusive. I categorically deny any wrongdoing.' Labour peer and MSP, Lord Watson of Invergowrie, 13 th November 2004. |  |
| 'Although two of them (stills from the CCTV footage) appear to feature me, I'm not doing anything wrong and the other two are inconclusive. I categorically deny any wrongdoing.' Labour peer and MSP, Lord Watson of Invergowrie, 13 th November 2004. | |
LORD Watson was cut adrift from the Labour party last night after remarkable claims surrounding a fire at a hotel following a glittering awards ceremony last week.
Senior party chiefs, including First Minister Jack McConnell, are privately understood to be expressing concerns over the former culture minister's version of events so far in the scandal, which has shocked the party to its core.
Just after 2am on Friday at the Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh, guests attending a party following the Scottish Politician of the Year award were suddenly disturbed when a set of curtains were found alight in one of the hotel's reception rooms.
CCTV footage captured a man in a kilt bending down by the curtains just before the blaze took place. Hotel staff have told Scotland on Sunday that the man can be seen with matches deliberately setting the curtain ablaze.
Lord Watson, who has been shown four stills of the camera footage, is expected to be questioned by police this week after complaints by staff at the hotel.
The peer has admitted that he is in two of the CCTV stills, but has described the footage as "inconclusive". Yesterday, the peer repeated his categoric denial that he was involved in any wrongdoing.
However, a stunned Labour party yesterday moved to distance itself from Watson, saying that his explanations so far had failed to satisfy them.
It is understood that McConnell, formerly regarded as one of Watson's main Labour allies, believes that the story presented so far by the Labour peer "does not stack up" - a view backed up by several other party figures.
An astonished First Minister was told about the allegations on Friday, but sources close to McConnell say he has not yet spoken to Watson about the incident.
The main concern over Watson's story relates to a three-minute period just before the alarm was sounded at the hotel, when Watson may have been on his own. The whole incident was caught on CCTV footage, which is now with Lothian and Borders police.
Watson had spent most of the evening with Malcolm Dickson, the editor of the politics magazine, Holyrood. Dickson is reported to have said that by 2am, Watson was drunk and wanted to continue drinking. However, hotel staff say they refused to serve him at the bar, and claim that as a result Watson issued an angry tirade of abuse. The peer rejects the claims, insisting that the staff had in fact suggested he ask for another bottle in another part of the hotel.
As they were leaving, Dickson has admitted that Watson was on his own for few minutes, apparently to find his coat.
Watson was quoted as saying on Friday: "I don't deny I was in most of the rooms at some stage, I think. I was aware of smoke, I remember smoke, I remember a fire alarm, that's all."
One Labour source said: "Even his alibi can't explain where Mike was for the whole night. There is this three-minute gap. He's going to have do a lot better. This is very, very serious indeed."
Another insider added: "I hope he does a bit better than what he's said so far, because he has to back it up with evidence." And another MP added: "So far he really hasn't handled this very well."
The party is now waiting on tenterhooks for the results of preliminary police inquiries which have already been launched into the incident, saying they can do little until those become clear.
Another senior Scottish Labour figure added: "We can only wait for the police investigation. But the seriousness of the situation cannot be under-estimated. It is not like throwing a table or pulling down the curtains. It is a premeditated act. The consequences would be extremely dire."
Watson yesterday carried on his normal routine, attending a surgery in the morning in his Glasgow Cathcart constituency. In the afternoon he travelled to Tayside to watch Dundee United, where he is a director. Confronted by Scotland on Sunday, Watson said he had nothing further to add to the explanation he had already made on Friday.
However, in a statement he repeated: "Although two of them [stills from the CCTV footage] appear to feature me, I'm not doing anything wrong and the other two are inconclusive. I categorically deny any wrongdoing."
A spokesman for the party said: Watson had still not been contacted by the police, who yesterday were refusing to comment on the substance of the case. A statement from Lothian and Borders police is expected today.
The extraordinary succession of events caught on camera began at 2:13am on Friday, when a man in a dress kilt was captured on CCTV camera crouching by the curtains in the reception room.
At 2:16am, the same man comes back into camera, and looks across to see a small flame lapping on the edge of the curtain. By 2:18, the flames have spread right across the curtains, with smoke filling the room.
The fire was quickly put out but the suspicions of staff were roused when they discovered that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to set alight the curtains in an adjacent room, known as the "yellow room".
All the material is now in the hands of police.
More than 50 guests were staying in the hotel following the awards, including Scottish TV presenter Shereen Nanjiani and TV actor David Hayman.
The annual affair is renowned as an event at which alcohol flows freely. This year there was boisterousness earlier in the evening as guests at the table where Watson was sitting were heckled for chatting loudly during a performance by violinist Nicola Benedetti.
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