 | 'One peer, who asked not to be named, later said it was expected Watson would return to the house. He said: "He will certainly be entitled to come to the Lords and I wouldn't be surprised if he came".' Brian Donnelly in the Herald, 24 th May 2006 |  |
| 'One peer, who asked not to be named, later said it was expected Watson would return to the house. He said: "He will certainly be entitled to come to the Lords and I wouldn't be surprised if he came".' Brian Donnelly in the Herald, 24 th May 2006 | |
Former Labour peer Mike Watson was yesterday beginning to piece his life together after eight months behind bars.
Watson, 57, was jailed in September for starting a fire at an Edinburgh hotel in 2004.
The former Scottish culture minister and MSP for Glasgow Cathcart refused to comment yesterday as he was released from Saughton prison.
Watson, who served half his sentence, walked out through the front gates of the jail at 9.30am to be confronted by a media scrum.
He was immediately bundled into a car belonging to a Scottish tabloid newspaper, which claimed it did not pay Watson for his story.
Another tabloid paper taunted the peer by turning up at the prison in a fire engine.
Watson, who struggled to get into the car amid the frenzy, refused to answer any of the questions fired at him by waiting reporters.
Friends said they expected Watson would attempt to start a new life in London with his wife Claire, possibly centred on work connected to the House of Lords.
One peer, who asked not to be named, later said it was expected Watson would return to the house. He said: "He will certainly be entitled to come to the Lords and I wouldn't be surprised if he came.
"The House of Lords is the sort of place that will not be condemnatory of him as people will realise that he has served his time."
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. It has also been suggested that he may choose to campaign for prison reforms.
He was exposed by The Herald after being captured on CCTV drunkenly starting a fire at the Prestonfield Hotel in Edinburgh in the early hours of November 12, 2004. He had been attending The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards.
He 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 expelled from the Labour party but it is not possible to resign from the House of Lords.
Some colleagues, including Michael Connarty, the Labour MP who was not available for comment yesterday, backed Watson at the time and described his sentence as "crass and stupid".
Last night Labour's Lord Foulkes, the former Scotland Office minister, said: "He has done his punishment and I hope that the media will now leave him in peace."
A source said that Jack McConnell, the first minister, had not spoken directly to Watson but he had spoken to others who were in contact with the former minister.
Watson's lawyer said his client had experienced problems with alcohol and had been distressed over the loss of his unborn child following IVF treatment.
Passing sentence at Watson's trial, Sheriff Kathrine Mackie told him: "I have to say that someone in public office ought to know how to conduct himself on all occasions." She said she would have jailed Watson for 20 months instead of 16 had it not been for his plea of guilty.
Whilst in prison it is understood Watson was working as a "pantryman", serving food to 150 fellow inmates. The job, considered one of more desirable tasks among inmates, carries pay of around £8 a week.
An appeal against the length of his sentence was rejected earlier this year.
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