 | 'His job in the pantry involved him taking meals up to the wing at lunch and dinner and washing dishes afterwards. He had around £15 a week spending money, £5 of which was private cash and the rest wages and payment for attending classes.' Annie Brown in the Daily Record, 24 th May 2006 |  |
LABOUR peer Mike Watson last night recalled the moment he was sent to jail.
Prisoner number 93156 said: "It was like being hit on the back of the head with a blunt instrument."
In September 2005, Watson stood handcuffed and in shock as sheriff Kathrine Mackie passed a sentence of 16 months.
He said: "It was like a dull thud which stunned me and it was some time before I could come to terms with what had happened."
Before going to Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing, Watson had accepted that prison was likely - despite the option that he might be given community service.
He had also discussed it with his wife Clare the night before.
He said: "You have to, in life, prepare yourself for the worst possible scenario because it will only hit you harder.
"We said our goodbyes in the morning and said our goodbyes on the adjournment of the court - prepared for the worst but still hoping for the best."
Watson was ashen-faced as he was sent down and saw Clare become hysterical in the public gallery.
But it was only that evening - when the door of his cell at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh was closed - that reality hit home.
He said: "It was like a dream that I hoped to wake up from but deep down knew I wasn't going to."
He was numb as he was taken through procedures and introduced to prison life. On the first day, he said it was clear there would be no "red carpet treatment".
Watson said: "That suggestion has been made but it just wasn't true. I was treated the same as any prisoner."
He was asked to empty his pockets but was not stripped or searched for drugs. He took a urine test a few days later to check that he was drug-free.
After a briefing about what to expect, Watson was asked by a nurse if he was at all suicidal.
He was then taken to a room where he left the suit he had worn in court and put on a white boilersuit.
He said: "This was two hours after sentencing and all I could think about was how Clare was."
An official mugshot was taken and he was given prison number 93156.
Watson was placed in Hermiston House, initially as a medium-risk prisoner. His category was changed to low-risk after an assessment.
His uniform was a red sweat shirt and black joggers, to co-ordinate with being placed in Red Wing.
He could have been put on a floor for lower-risk cons.
But he chose not to as it would mean changing the I weekend visiting hours that suited London-based Clare.
Watson was placed in a I small single cell with a TV, a I sink and a toilet. The average age in Saughton was around 30 but he gravitated towards the older men, many of whom were in Red Wing.
That first lock-up was when realisation dawned. Compounding his anxiety was a phone call he had made to Clare that evening.
He said: "The dull thud had worn off and it was hitting home.
"I realised that, apart from visits, that was going to be my only contact for the next eight months - no real physical contact for months."
The door was locked at 8.30 in the evening and not opened again until 7.30 the next morning.
On a Saturday and a Sunday, it was locked from 4.30pm for 16 hours.
Having a job in the pantry meant Watson wasn't locked up during the day and he was free to move around the wing, sit at tables or go to the gym.
A typical day saw him unlocked at 7.30am and not locked up again until 3.30, then out from 5 until 8.30pm.
Watson would try to attend the gym at least twice a week and, over his eight-month term, ran 400km on the treadmill - the equivalent of 10 marathons.
He said: "I hated gyms before. I always loved running - but outside.
"Now I am attached to the treadmill. I will be joining a gym as soon as possible.
"It was using up time and keeping me fit. I set targets in life and that was what it was about. I was trying to keep fit in mind and body."
Watson lost a stone in weight inside - but the first time he was able to see himself in the mirror was yesterday. He said: "It is no bad thing. I am probably about the weight I should be now."
When he wasn't at the gym or locked up or working, Watson attended Spanish and IT classes and took a six-week course to teach adult literacy to other prisoners.
He said: "I found that very rewarding. One guy, when he started, could only write his first name.
"He then went on to order a daily newspaper. I only played a part in that but it was satisfying."
Watson even helped fellow convicts to fill in complaints forms.
His job in the pantry involved him taking meals up to the wing at lunch and dinner and washing dishes afterwards. He had around £15 a week spending money, £5 of which was private cash and the rest wages and payment for attending classes.
About £12 a week went on calls to Clare - a few minutes in the morning and in the evening before lock-up.
Now and again, he would buy diluted orange, a bunch of bananas and a tin of macaroni cheese.
He said: "I didn't ever go hungry. To be honest, the food wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. There were healthy options and we did get fruit."
Most of all, he missed fresh cheese and there were no fresh eggs.
Watson campaigned to have fresh tomatoes available in the canteen. He won the fight - but they were not brought in until this week.
Reading was a solace and Watson managed to get through more than 40 books. He also kept a diary, which he may publish, and wrote articles for a Dundee United fanzine.
Above all, he missed Clare and wrote her around 160 letters. He also tried to answer the 500 he received from supporters.
He said: "I wanted to keep my mind active and I can't thank people enough for the letters they sent."
Watson received letters of support from former Cabinet ministers - but he is unwilling to name them.
Dundee Utd chairman Eddie Thompson wrote to him recently to offer his support on his release.
But Watson was most stunned by the support of the other prisoners. He said: "They were great, actually.
"It's a great leveller, there is no time to be high-falutin. I got a lot of encouragement from the other men. Some of them would ask me if I was really a lord and did I have a castle."
Some prisoners claimed Watson was nicknamed Lord Saughton.
But the peer insisted: "They called me Mike and I don't think I had a nickname as such.
"I was treated well generally by the prisoners and staff. Most of the officers just wanted a quiet life and they were happy if you behaved."
Watson says drugs were commonplace and he was even offered heroin. He said: "Someone came up and said, 'Do you want some kit?'
"They didn't know me and I just told them, 'No.'
"There is a level of tolerance to drugs in prison. That's not a criticism of staff. There is an element where it is easier to deal with people who are under the influence of drugs."
Watson has emerged from prison a humbler man but he insists it is not a deterrent for everyone.
He said: "There are different categories of prisoners - those like myself almost certainly will never be in trouble again. For them, the short, sharp shock works.
"But I saw some younger ones who don't even appear to want to get out of the cycle of prison.
"It's not so awful that it is a deterrent to everyone. It is bad as it restricts you physically and emotionally and affects your future.
"The biggest punishment that anyone can face is to have their liberty withdrawn. It made me think of a lot of aspects of my life and things I had taken for granted."
TOMORROW: PEER'S WIFE TELLS OF HER HEARTACHE OVER JAIL ORDEAL
'It was like a dream that I hoped I would wake up from but deep down I knew I wasn't going to. All I could think about was Clare'
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