Fully 65 years after lawyer-to-be Ian Hamilton (QC, now 89) whipped the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey, the Scottish Nationalists have pulled off another startling coup on the other side of College Green.

The SNP will be represented on the newly reconstituted House of Commons justice select committee – even though justice is devolved and the Scottish Parliament has its own justice committee.

Richard Arkless, SNP MP for Dumfries and Galloway, will not be recusing himself when matters pertaining solely to England and Wales arise (Won’t that be almost all of them? Ed.). But he won’t be voting on such matters in the Commons.

For balance, we ought to note that the Conservative party is represented on Holyrood’s justice committee in the personage of Margaret Mitchell MSP. This is so even though the Tories have fewer Scottish MPs than Edinburgh Zoo has pandas (but then, of course, so does Labour now).

Strange chap, democracy.

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