Caledonia Consulting
Caledonia Consulting is a lobbying firm in Edinburgh which is run by long time lobbyist Devin Scobie. Scobie used to work for the controversial lobby firm GPC International (involved in the Derek Draper affair). The firm is controversial because Scobie was simultaneously (until January 2008) the director of the Scottish Parliament Business Exchange a venture set up in the Scottish Parliament with the stated purpose of educating MSPs and business about each other. It states that it is 'non-lobbying' and yet many of those associated with it (including Scobie) were/are professional lobbyists.[1] This apparent conflict in the operations of the Exchange led to an inquiry into its activities by the Standards Committee of the Scottish Parliament.[2]
Also at Caledonia was another member of the SPBE, Lynda Gauld a former lobbyist for Pfizer.[3] This controversy is compounded by the fact that Caledonia has hired two former MSPs. One David Davidson of the conservative Party was also connected with the SPBE while elected as an MSP. The other Mike Watson is the disgraced former Labour minister imprisoned for 'fire raising' after he set alight the curtains at an Edinburgh hotel during a Scottish political awards event.[4]
Caledonia are not members of the Association of Professional Political Consultants and thus do not divulge their clients. It is likely that the consultancy has clients from the scotch whisky industry given that both Devlin Scobie and Andrew Scobie (no relation) both sit on the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Scotch Whisky[5]
People
Devin Scobie | David Davidson | Lynda Gauld | Andrew Scobbie | Mike Watson[6]
contact, resources, notes
contact
http://www.caledoniaconsulting.co.uk/
Resources
- SPBE facilitates lobbying forum access to Scottish Parliament Blogs - David Miller - Unspun Spinwatch, David Miller, 9 January 2008
Notes
- ↑ Criticism over relaunched Holyrood business scheme By Paul Hutcheon
- ↑ Standards Committee 9th Report 2002Report on The Scottish Parliament and Business Exchange SP Paper 694 Session 1 (2002)
- ↑ SPBE facilitates lobbying forum access to Scottish Parliament Blogs - David Miller - Unspun Spinwatch, David Miller, 9 January 2008
- ↑ Disgraced peer lands job with lobbying firm CONSULTANCY: NEW POST Sunday Herald, The, Aug 5, 2007 by Paul Hutcheon Scottish Political Editor
- ↑ Scottish Parliament, Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament- Registration Form, no date given, accessed 5th October 2011
- ↑ http://www.caledoniaconsulting.co.uk/ourteam.html
[[Category:Alcohol Industry
