No more excuses

As excuses go, blaming bad behaviour on alcohol is one of the oldest in the book. It is also, as Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill makes plain, one of the most pathetic. Speaking at the World Health Organisation's violence reduction conference today, he will take another step towards addressing one of Scotland's most serious and pressing concerns, namely the violent and destructive culture associated with excessive alcohol consumption. As Mr MacAskill says in The Herald today: "We are sick and tired of alcohol being used as an excuse."