An act of vengeance

As a sceptic of the whole G8 business, I was neither impressed nor depressed by the SSP stunt in the Scottish Parliament last Thursday. But I am concerned at the outrage it seemed to provoke among other MSPs, leading to the sentence of a month's suspension from parliament, including loss of allowances, which punishes employees because of employer behaviour - a strange principle for Labour MSPs to support.

I am a former "stunt" man, who disrupted a Budget in the House of Commons, as did Alex Salmond before me (to SNP applause). We are not alone. Tam Dalyell, rightly praised as a magnificent parliamentarian, also has the distinction of being evicted from the Chamber of the Commons.

There are others with a record of disruptive stunts. John Prescott helped bring the Commons to suspension when he and I were members of the Tribune Group; and Gordon Brown, along with members of the present government, was instrumental in bringing another suspension via a demonstration against the tax policy of Margaret Thatcher's government.

On those occasions, the sheer numbers meant no individual punishments. But individuals, like me, Alex Salmond, and Tam Dalyell, suffered the due and proper punishment of banishment from the Commons for a short period. I emphasise a short period.

Disruption in democratic parliaments is not an exceptional event, but a fairly usual one, and the confidence and maturity of the parliamentary institution concerned is demonstrated by the way it is dealt with. At Westminster, it is seen as a tiresome chore, dealt with in a few minutes, requiring a proportionate short sentence of banishment, then resumption of business as if nothing much had happened.

The Scottish Parliament institution failed the tests of confidence and maturity on Thursday, became hysterical, and went over the top in an act of vengeance which, in respect of denying allowances to pay staff as per employment contract, is possibly unlawful. I am beginning to wonder if these people can be trusted with the rational conduct of public affairs.

JIM SILLARS, Grange Loan, Edinburgh