....SO THAT`S ALRIGHT THEN

Unless I misread it, it seems that Scottish Labour Party Leader, Wendy Alexander, has confessed to illegally receiving £950 from a Channel Islands based donor, who was not eligible to make such a donation and, therefore, Wendy was not eligible to receive it.

Having admitted this wrongdoing, however, Wendy`s apparent defence is that she did not break the law `intentionally.` We`ll see what develops as the Electoral Commission and maybe the Police take the matter further, but her `defence` is both intriguing and, at the same time, encouraging to us lesser would-be felons.

If I ever get stopped by our boys in blue for, say, a speeding offence and I get hauled up in front of the local beak, I can presumably claim that I did not exceed the speed limit `intentionally` - and, subject to the outcome of the Wendy case, I might get away with it.

A new definition of taking the 5th amendment might emerge - "I`ll take the Wendy, m`lud."