 | 'Despite his criminal conviction, Watson is expected to receive £15,000 a year in pension entitlements from his time as an MP, an MSP and a minister. But the revelations about his expense claims at the House of Lords will add to pressure for him to be stripped of his peerage.' Eddie Barnes in Scotland on Sunday, 4 th September 2005. |  |
DISGRACED MSP Lord Mike Watson claimed expenses worth £21,000 during a two-year period 'moonlighting' at the House of Lords, during which he made only two speeches.
The peer - who last week pleaded guilty to trying to set fire to an upmarket hotel while drunk - claimed the extra cash despite earning £50,000 a year for his 'full-time' job at the Scottish Parliament.
Watson was handed a life peerage by Tony Blair in 1997 as compensation for losing his Commons seat in boundary changes. He was allowed to keep his seat in the Lords after becoming an MSP in 1999.
At that time, Watson declared his job at Holyrood was far more "preferable" than his unelected position in the House of Lords. Nonetheless, he continued to take advantage of the Lords' generous expenses package.
Official House of Lords figures, which only date back to April 2001 - three years after Watson was given his peerage - show he attended for 56 days during the period, charging £21,279. That works out at more than £400 a day.
The costs were made up of £8,451 for travel, £5,672 for hotel bills, £3,013 for "day subsistence", and a further £4,187 for office costs.
Although it is unclear how many times Watson voted, the records show he made two speeches during the period, one on the Hunting Bill he introduced in Scotland and another on the woeful state of Railtrack.
Despite his criminal conviction, Watson is expected to receive £15,000 a year in pension entitlements from his time as an MP, an MSP and a minister. But the revelations about his expense claims at the House of Lords will add to pressure for him to be stripped of his peerage.
Following his admission last week that he set fire to curtains at an Edinburgh hotel after a political awards ceremony, Watson announced he would quit as an MSP. But he will be allowed to continue working as a Lord, and to continue claiming similar expenses.
If he were to attend for just 150 days a year - a common figure at the Lords - he would be able to charge £60,000 annually, based on his current spending records.
Watson's claims are high compared with many other Scottish peers. Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle, who lives in Perth and Kinross, charged £314 a day for his services in 2003/04. Lord Elder, from Glasgow, charged £334 a day. The Earl of Caithness charged £358 a day.
Bill Aitken, chief whip for the Scottish Tories said: "Based on an hourly rate, Mike Watson must have been one of the highest paid politicians in Britain. It is time to look at the way these things operate."
Meanwhile, the battle to replace Watson as Labour candidate in the Cathcart seat has already descended into acrimony, even though nominations do not need to be in until this week.
One of Scotland's richest men, Charan Gill, who built up the Ashoka restaurant chain, has been placed in the frame to replace Watson.
But the moves to back Gill, a close friend of First Minister Jack McConnell, who is understood to be supportive of his nomination, have already provoked a furious reaction within the city, as he is neither a Labour party member nor a resident within the constituency.
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