NEWS stories about politicians’ pay and perks are usually guaranteed to get people’s blood boiling.

It’s undeniable that there’s a shabby history of parliamentary expenses abuse, and of regular pay rises way beyond what’s justified.

This year’s example of a 10% hike in MPs’ pay added insult to injury, when everyone else in the public sector has been living with a 1% cap.

Holyrood has had its share of scandal too.

Committing to Freedom of Information laws before Westminster meant that a lot of detail about expenses came out early, and the whole system had to be redesigned to eliminate abuses.

But what we have now is a pretty robust system of dealing with office costs and out of pocket expenses, and we’ve also broken the link to MP’s salaries so the pay rise won’t be copied for MSPs.

But there is another issue which remains unaddressed, and which deserves to be called a scandal.

It’s not an example of anyone deliberately lining their own pockets, or fiddling the rules.

But it’s a misuse of public funds nevertheless.

Like pretty much every other workplace, Holyrood operates a pension scheme.

Very few such schemes apply clear ethical principles, but a national Parliament has a responsibility to give a lead, and ensure that investment is not going to industries which conflict with the public interest, or with the laws and policies that Parliament itself has passed.

Yet research by Friends of the Earth Scotland has shown just what MSPs’ pensions are invested in.

Despite a strong political commitment shown to issues such as peace, and public health, over £1 million is invested in the arms trade and in tobacco companies.

More than twice as much is invested in the fossil fuel industry, flying directly in the face of the climate change agenda.

Every political party has repeatedly backed strong climate change targets, and the international “climate justice” agenda.

Every MSP has voted for them too.

But every single one of us stands to personally benefit from these destructive industries which have actively tried to undermine work toward a global climate deal.

Only a month ago Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, warned that in the age of climate change fossil fuel investments may be profoundly over-valued, and represent an unacceptable risk.

So even in purely financial terms the case for divesting from this industry is very clear, as Glasgow University recently decided – it’s the first university in Europe to do so.

But the ethical case is just as strong, on climate change, on the arms trade, and on tobacco companies.

Holyrood’s pension trustees should give a lead, and shift public funds away from such destructive industries.