Pop-up problem

Pop-up problem

JOAN McAlpine of the SNP had a career as a journalist before becoming an MSP so she is a politician in a hurry.

This week she was in too much of a hurry driving out of the Scottish Parliament garage this week. Attempting to tail-gate another car she had an unfortunate encounter with the rising security barrier.

Holyrood authorities have paid out compensation to MSPs in the past when the "pop-up barriers" malfunctioned and "popped up" at the wrong moment.

Conservative MSP Liz Smith was once forced to clamber out the window of her car. But it doesn't appear that Ms McAlpine will be getting a pay-out. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: "There was an incident at the Parliament's vehicle entry system earlier this week when a car was caught on the exit ramp. The incident was not caused by a fault with the system."

Not so great...

A biography of the infamous Victorian thief, con-man and forger John Henry Greatrex, by David Bruce, will be launched today. Guests at the Glasgow Police Museum bash will include Tom Greatrex, the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP. He's been invited along as a namesake of the crook - there aren't too many who share the old Derbyshire which means, roughly, "pothole filler". Tom has been at pains to point that they are in no way related.