10/07/2008

A former Labour MSP has been appointed chair of one of the two partners behind a soon-to-launch digital TV channel dedicated to Gaelic language programming.

Alasdair Morrison has been given the role at MG ALBA, which was, until recently, known as the Gaelic Media Service, and which is working with the BBC to launch the channel within the next few months.

The appointment was approved by the Secretary of State for Scotland and will run for four years.

Morrison was Labour MSP until last year for the Western Isles. Between 1999 and 2001, he was deputy minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. His early career was as a radio and television journalist with the BBC.

But the appointment has attracted claims of cronyism. In today's Scotsman newspaper, Linda Fabiani, the Holyrood culture minister, is quoted, saying: "I oppose this appointment, as I believe that, as a public body and a broadcaster, MG Alba must be politically impartial."


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