Rt Rev Alan McDonald

Today saw an interesting (and long-standing) fixture in the year for both the Scotland Office and the Church of Scotland.

Every year, the incumbent Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland visits London to meet with the Prime Minister, Scottish Secretary and various other Scottish MPs. This includes a sermon in the charming crypt underneath Westminster Hall, which the Rt Rev Alan McDonald gave this morning. Douglas Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, was supposed to give a reading but instead it was taken by David Cairns, his under-secretary (David is a former Catholic priest). Then there's lunch for the Moderator at Dover House, which was today hosted by Douglas Alexander, and then several meetings between the General Assembly's Church and Society Council (formerly the Church and Nation Committee) and Government and Opposition MPs in (oddly enough) the Speaker's Bed Chamber.