Saltire plea in Parliament to be examined

Published on Saturday 17 January 2009 10:03

A PLEA for the saltire to be displayed behind the presiding officer's chair in the Scottish Parliament has been passed on by MSPs to Holyrood bosses.

A petition to the parliament from Portobello office worker John Blyth and Helen McNeill, a colleague from Lochend, argued most countries have their national flag on show in their parliament chamber.

And the public petitions committee agreed to write to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, raising the issue.

However, last year the SPCB rejected a similar proposal to place the Scottish Parliament logo behind the presiding officer, saying the move could be "extremely difficult, not to mention costly".

Presiding officer Alex Fergusson told the petitions committee at the time: "The unique and recognisable architecture of the debating chamber has become synonymous with the Scottish Parliament and it has always been the intention of the SPCB that the focus should remain on this striking design."