 | 'Despite being convicted of a serious offence and spending time in jail, he is still entitled to sit in the House of Lords.' Joanna Vallely in the Evening News, 23 rd May 2006 |  |
| 'Despite being convicted of a serious offence and spending time in jail, he is still entitled to sit in the House of Lords.' Joanna Vallely in the Evening News, 23 rd May 2006 | |
DISGRACED peer Mike Watson was freed from Edinburgh's Saughton Prison today after spending eight months behind bars.
Lord Watson, 57, jailed for setting fire to curtains at a prestigious Edinburgh hotel, emerged to a media scrum at the prison gates shortly after 9.30am.
Dressed in a pale blue open-necked shirt and dark jacket, a clean-shaven Watson took only a few short steps into the sunlight before being bundled into a car, understood to belong to a national newspaper.
The Labour peer and former MSP, who has served half his 16-month sentence, plans to leave Scotland and move to London, where his wife Clare has been working for the past six months.
Despite being convicted of a serious offence and spending time in jail, he is still entitled to sit in the House of Lords.
Lord Watson, who struggled in the frenzy to get into the blue Toyota Corolla backed up against the gate, refused to answer any of the questions fired at him by reporters.
Two police officers trying to hem in the media could not prevent another newly-released convict delaying the getaway by tying his shoelace in front of the car.
A small group of men, released about 20 minutes before Watson, came out looking boisterous and enjoying the attention.
"He'll be out in 20 minutes or half an hour. He thinks he's better off where he is," joked one.
One tabloid paper even sent along a fire engine with Watson's name on it to greet him.
William Hutton, 23, from Armadale, who was released minutes before Watson, said the former MSP for Glasgow Cathcart had not drawn much attention inside. He said: "He was a nobody in there."
Robert Durante, 29, from The Fort, claimed Watson had received special protection in jail, including being taken for meals separately.
"He ate his dinner at different times to the rest of us," said Mr Durante.
Asked what reputation Watson enjoyed in prison, he replied: "None. He never had any drugs so he wasn't any use to anyone."
It is understood that Watson kept a diary of his life behind bars and may intend to follow in the footsteps of Jeffrey Archer by publishing his prison memoirs.
Sources close to the peer say he is expected to use his position in the House of Lords to push for prison reforms. Watson started the blaze in the main reception of Edinburgh's Prestonfield House Hotel in the early hours of November 12, 2004. He had been attending the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards.
Watson initially denied responsibility for the fire but CCTV footage showed him crouching down at the base of a curtain just minutes before it was engulfed in flames.
On admitting the offence, he resigned from the Scottish Parliament and from his post as director of Dundee United Football Club. He was later expelled from the Labour Party, although it is not possible to resign from the House of Lords.
Watson's lawyer said he had experienced problems with alcohol and had been distressed over the loss of his unborn child following IVF treatment. Passing sentence, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie told Watson: "I have to say that someone in public office ought to know how to conduct himself on all occasions."
An appeal against the length of his sentence was rejected earlier this year.
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