ALEX Cole-Hamilton was called to apologise last week after appearing to dial in to a debate from the Holyrood bar – so how long does it take to walk from there to the Chamber?
The Jouker sent one of The National’s political reporters to find out, after we revealed that the Scottish Parliament wouldn’t say if it would investigate the Scottish LibDem leader for the blunder.
In case you missed it, Cole-Hamilton called in at the end of a debate on Thursday last week to raise a point of order, but appeared to be outside of Margo’s, Holyrood’s pub.
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MSPs could be heard jeering and laughing as the incident went down, with deputy presiding officer Liam McArthur, a fellow Scottish LibDem MSP, seen shaking his head at his boss’s intervention.
How long would it have taken Alex Cole-Hamilton to get from the Holyrood bar to the chamber?
— The National (@ScotNational) December 7, 2023
Our reporter @agc_reports timed the journey after the Scottish LibDem leader faced criticism for dialling in to a debate from the pub. pic.twitter.com/oFAaJHbtUC
The Scottish LibDems declined to say if he was drinking alcohol at the time.
But how long exactly would it have taken the party leader to walk up from Margo’s to raise his point of order in person?
Well, our reporter, taking a somewhat leisurely pace, managed it from outside of the pub entrance to the top of the chamber in under a minute and 20 seconds.
Add on a little bit of time for Cole-Hamilton to get in the chamber and to his seat at the back of the Scottish Labour benches, we reckon it wouldn’t have taken more than two minutes.
Even the First Minister took a dig at the Scottish LibDem leader during FMQs over the incident, and our reporter spotted that Cole-Hamilton remained in the chamber for this week’s Thursday night debate.
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According to officials, it's up to MSPs whether or not they join proceedings in person or remotely.
And, it’s unlikely that he’ll face any investigation or probe into his whereabouts at the time, despite several calls for him to apologise.
He hasn’t said much about the incident on social media either, instead criticising the SNP over international education rankings, a story that dominated FMQs as all three opposition leaders launched an attack on the Scottish Government.
Well, we bet Cole-Hamilton won’t risk dialling in from the pub a second time.
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