Caledonia Consulting

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The Caledonia lobbyists who run the SPBE (from left to right) David Davidson, Mike Watson, Devin Scobie, Andrew Scobbie and former employee Lynda Gauld

Caledonia Consulting is a lobbying firm in Edinburgh which is run by long time lobbyist Devin Scobie.

Controversy

Caledonia's Devin 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 at the time was another member of the SPBE, Lynda Gauld a former lobbyist for Pfizer.[3]

The controversy is compounded by the fact that Caledonia also 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 Consulting and Scotch Whisky

In 2009 The Herald reported that Diageo had hired Caledonia Consulting as part of their campaign against stricter alcohol regulation proposed by the SNP Scottish Government.[5]

At the time, [House of Lords]] cross-bencher, Baron Watson of Invergowrie, Mike Watson, was an associate director of Caledonia Consulting.

Mike Watson served a 16 month prison sentence for setting fire to a hotel after the Scottish Politician of the Year Event in 2004. The event is sponsored by Diageo and The Herald. Watson pleaded guilty to wilful fire raising, the Scottish legal establishment's term for arson, but claimed he had experienced an alcohol related 'blackout' [6]

Evelyn Gillan, then director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), now chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said: "It is ironic that someone who has been in prison for an alcohol-fuelled crime is working for a firm helping Diageo put a stop to innovative policies. Diageo is only interested in maintaining profits, and Caledonia Consulting are helping them do this." [7]

The consultancy had clients from the scotch whisky industry. Both Devin Scobie and Andrew Scobie (no relation) also sat on the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Scotch Whisky.[8]

People

  • Devin Scobie
  • Margaret Smith, former MSP. Smith was for 12 years MSP for Edinburgh West until May 2011. Former City of Edinburgh councillor.
  • Euan Robson, former MSP. Robson was for 8 years MSP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire until 2007. He was Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business in the opening session of the Scottish Parliament and Deputy Minister for Education and Young People in the second. He was then CEO of Scottish Sustainable Energy Foundation.[9]

Former employees

Andrew Scobie Mike Watson[10] Darren McDermott[11]

Clients

Caledonia does not declare its clients on its website, nor is it signed up to the voluntary transparency registers operated by the lobbying industry.

However, Devin Scobie is registered on the [[CIPR]'s voluntary register. As of August 2015, he lists his clients as:[12]

Contacts

Address:
Website:http://www.caledoniaconsulting.co.uk/

Resources

References

  1. ↑ Paul Hutcheon, Criticism over relaunched Holyrood business scheme The Herald, 2nd June 2007, accessed 6th October 2011
  2. ↑ Standards Committee 9th Report 2002Report on The Scottish Parliament and Business Exchange SP Paper 694 Session 1 (2002)
  3. ↑ SPBE facilitates lobbying forum access to Scottish Parliament Blogs - David Miller - Unspun Spinwatch, David Miller, 9 January 2008
  4. ↑ Disgraced peer lands job with lobbying firm CONSULTANCY: NEW POST Sunday Herald, The, Aug 5, 2007 by Paul Hutcheon Scottish Political Editor
  5. ↑ Tom Gordon and Paul Hutcheon, Drunk fire-raising Lord’s links to firm set to give whisky advice to Holyrood The Herald 25th September 2011, accessed 6th October 2011
  6. ↑ Tom Gordon and Paul Hutcheon, Drunk fire-raising Lord’s links to firm set to give whisky advice to Holyrood The Herald 25th September 2011, accessed 6th October 2011
  7. ↑ Paul Hutcheon and Tom Gordon, Anger over spirits giant's link to drunk, fire-raising lord The Herald 8th February 2009, accessed 6th October 2011
  8. ↑ Scottish Parliament, Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament- Registration Form, no date given, accessed 5th October 2011
  9. ↑ Team, Caledonia website, accessed August 2015
  10. ↑ Caledonia Consulting, Our Team accessed 6th October
  11. ↑ Paul Hutcheon and Tom Gordon, Anger over spirits giant's link to drunk, fire-raising lord The Herald 8th February 2009, accessed 6th October 2011
  12. ↑ (voluntary) lobbying register, CIPR, accessed August 2015
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