ANOTHER POL, ANOTHER F BOMB:

Minister is left eating humble pie (HAMISH MACDONELL, 6/25/04, The Scotsman)

THE Scottish Parliament was in a frenzy over a new scandal yesterday as reports emerged of "Porky Piegate" - a tale of a minister, a hearty lunch and an embarrassing apology.

The minister was the gaffe-prone Frank McAveety, the arts minister, who was forced to apologise to his fellow MSPs yesterday for taking time out to enjoy a solid lunch in the MSPs’ canteen when he should have been answering questions in the chamber.

Mr McAveety’s late lunch of pie, roast potatoes and beans was rudely interrupted at 2:10pm yesterday afternoon when his one of his colleagues burst into the canteen and told him he should have been answering questions on behalf of the Executive in the chamber from 2pm.

Mr McAveety rushed to the chamber but then managed to compound his original error by telling MSPs he had been "unavoidably detained" because of a literary event, failing to mention that he had actually been late because of his desire for a pie and beans.

The minister had indeed been at an arts council book event but he had left in good time to make the chamber in time for ministers’ questions.

He had actually arrived late for the Scottish Arts Council's Book of the Year award as well and told the guests he had been detained by First Minister’s Questions in the parliament.

And, in an off-the-cuff remark which he may come to regret, Mr McAveety told guests at the awards ceremony: "I understand I have occasionally been described as a philistine. I have checked it in the dictionary and I can't find it under ‘F’ anywhere."

A man's gotta eat.

Posted by Orrin Judd at June 25, 2004 10:56 AM