Council of Economic Advisers

It emerged today that Sir George Mathewson, the former chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, is to chair the Scottish Executive's new Council of Economic Advisers. Sir George, of course, was unveiled during the recent election campaign as a high-profile supporter of the SNP.

Sir George is no stranger to Scottish government. In the early 1980s he was appointed chief executive of the old Scottish Development Agency, the more successful predecessor of Scottish Enterprise. In that post he struck up a good working relationship with the Scottish Secretary George Younger, who would later recruit Sir George as chief executive of RBS while Younger was chairman. When Lord Younger retired, Sir George succeeded him as chairman.

You can read more about this story by looking at BBC Scotland online.