CCTV IMAGES THAT LED A FIRE RAISING PEER TO JUSTICE... AND TO JAIL
A KILTED figure crouched by a curtain in the Whisky Room of the luxury Prestonfield House Hotel.
Around 2.15am on November 12, 200 , flame started licking up the embroidered gold curtain.
Mike Watson, who hastily left the room, had just started a potentially deadly blaze in a hotel full of sleeping guests. A few moments later, as smoke engulfed the room, Lord Watson reappeared, standing in the doorway, apparently checking his handiwork. The fire had taken hold and he left again.
Within minutes a member of staff discovered the blaze and it was quickly extinguished but it left £ ,500 of damage – and a political career in ruins… until yesterday.
On the fateful night, Lord Watson was among 20 guests at the Scot-
He became the worse for wear
tish Politician of the Year Awards at the 17th century hotel on Edinburgh’s South Side.
He became the worse for wear as the evening progressed. Some of the organisers even tried to have him thrown out.
Once the dinner was over at around midnight, he was among a group of politicians and guests at an invitation-only drinks reception. Lord Watson had not been invited to the reception but attended as the companion of another politician.
The turning point appears to have come when staff refused to serve him any more drink. According to court accounts, he behaved rudely and aggressively to them.
Some guests reported seeing him striking matches and tossing them in the direction of a sofa.
He wandered off and entered the Whisky Room, where he set fire to the curtain.
In the immediate aftermath of the blaze, Lord Watson was confronted by staff but tried to hide the matches he was carrying.
In the days that followed, he appeared oblivious to the storm brewing around him, insisting he knew nothing of any fire. Labour initially defended him but then the CCTV images emerged – leading to his downfall.