THE SCOTTISH Politician of the Year Awards is one of the highlights of the political social calendar, writes Steve Bargeton, political editor.

Last year more than 400 guests, including this reporter, attended Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh on the night of November 11 to be wined, dined and entertained.

After a champagne reception, guests took their seats at their tables for drinks while the awards ceremony was recorded to be televised later in the evening.

The dinner ended about 11.30 pm but a post-awards party for invited guests went on until the early hours. Lord Watson, it emerged in court, gained entry to the post-awards party through an MP who was on the guest list.

At one stage Lord Watson, who had been drinking heavily, approached a night porter to ask where he might find his coat and was told to try the cloakroom.

“The accused was well under the influence of alcohol and quite hostile in his manner towards the night porter,” fiscal Adrian Fraser told Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday.

The peer did not have his cloakroom ticket and the night porter believed he was “too intoxicated” to be allowed to go into the cloakroom himself to pick out the correct coat.

Lord Watson appeared to accept the suggestion that he go upstairs to where he had been earlier to find his coat. The night porter was said to have noticed the accused wandering all over the hotel and staring out of the windows even though it was dark.

“The night porter considered his behaviour was strange and resolved to keep an eye on him but was called away to deal with another work matter and lost sight of the accused,” said Mr Fraser.

At some time between 1 am and 2 am, witnesses observed Lord Watson approach bar staff where he demanded more drink.

“Staff tried to explain to the accused that the bar was closed and that there was no alcohol being served,” the court was told. “However, he would not accept this and continued to forcibly request more alcohol.

“At that point and in order to calm the situation down, staff gave the accused an open bottle of wine which was sitting on a nearby table. The accused took the wine and walked off.”

An event organiser who had witnessed the exchange approached the peer and told him he had been “rude” to staff and explained that no more drink was being served because it was approximately 2 am.

Mr Fraser said that some 10 to 15 minutes later the hotel fire alarm was activated. Staff quickly identified the main reception area as the seat of the fire and extinguished it without calling emergency services.

They considered that a full evacuation or call to the fire services would have caused “unnecessary panic”, the court heard.

CCTV footage of the reception area showed Lord Watson entering, lifting a lamp which he “started pointing around the room in the manner one would use a torch.”

“He was then seen bending down for a number of seconds at the bottom of the curtain which was the one which went on fire,” said Mr Fraser.

“He then left the room and at that point the curtain was smouldering. As the accused left, he placed something in the sporran of the kilt he was wearing.”

Lord Watson returned to the room shortly afterwards and looked at the curtain before leaving again without making any attempt to report what was happening.

The flames could soon be seen travelling up the curtain, along the curtain pole and the room then filled with black smoke.

Mr Fraser said, “Part of the evidence linking the accused to the fire . . . was that he was later found with matches which he appeared to be attempting to conceal.”

Fire expert James Wood said the deliberate blaze— probably started by matches —“was potentially very dangerous” and that the smoke could have caused deaths.

He said hotel guests woken in the middle of the night, unfamiliar with their surroundings, were particularly vulnerable especially if they have been drinking—as was the case that night.

Lord Watson was escorted from the hotel although police were not contacted until later that morning.

The following day the political community was buzzing with rumour and speculation about what had happened.

Newspapers carried reports of the incident and one published still pictures from the CCTV footage.

On Sunday, November 14, Lord Watson attended Howdenhall police station in Edinburgh where he was questioned, formally arrested and then denied the charge against him.