Trish Godman

Patricia Godman (née Leonard; 31 October 1939 – 21 July 2019) was a Scottish Labour politician who served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2003 to 2011. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Renfrewshire constituency from 1999 to 2011.

Trish Godman
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
In office
7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011
Serving with Murray Tosh (2003–2007) and Alasdair Morgan (2007–2011)
Presiding OfficerGeorge Reid
Alex Fergusson
Preceded byGeorge Reid
Succeeded byElaine Smith
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West Renfrewshire
In office
6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Patricia Leonard

(1939-10-31)31 October 1939
Glasgow, Scotland
Died21 July 2019(2019-07-21) (aged 79)
Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Political partyScottish Labour
SpouseNorman Godman
Children3

Background

The daughter of Martin Leonard and Cathie Craig, Godman was a Glasgow City councillor before entering the Scottish Parliament.

After leaving St Gerard's Senior Secondary School, Glasgow aged 15, Godman worked with a charity for some time, as a waitress, in a bar, insurance collector and a house mother in a list 'D' school. She later attended Jordanhill College where she trained as a social worker.[1] She worked as a social worker working in the East End of Glasgow from 1979 to 1989.[2]

From 2003 until 2011, Godman was a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.[3] In 2008, it was revealed she charged the taxpayer around £30,000 for hotel bills although she was renting a flat from her son Gary Mulgrew.[4] She did not qualify for the rental expenses allowance as her main residence in Glasgow was too close to Holyrood to qualify, but claimed rent rather than hotel expenses. She was entitled to an overnight expenses allowance that permitted MSPs to recoup expenses for each night, which she had paid for the rent of the apartment. It was confirmed that she had neither broken the Parliamentary rules, nor benefited in any way.[5]

On her final day in parliament, Godman wore a Celtic F. C. shirt in Holyrood. A few days later, a bomb addressed to her office was intercepted, with similar devices being sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Paul McBride, Lennon's legal representative. It was believed that Godman was targeted for wearing the shirt.[6] Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie were later convicted for sending the bombs.[7]

Personal life

Godman married her second husband Norman Godman in 1981,[2] who was a Member of Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde and its predecessor seat from 1983 to 2001.[8] She had three sons by her first husband, from whom she separated aged 22 due to his infidelity.[2] One, Gary Mulgrew, was one of the NatWest Three.[9] Her experience with his extradition inspired her to take an active role in opposing Gary McKinnon's extradition to the United States in a similar case.[10]

Godman died on 21 July 2019 in Clydebank, after fighting with a terminal illness.[3]

References
  1. Brydon, Lindsay (26 October 2019). "Obituary: Trish Godman, social worker and politician". HeraldScotland. Herald and Times Group. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. "Trish Godman". The Times. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  3. Ponsonby, Bernard (24 July 2019). "Obituary: Trish Godman, former Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  4. Daily Record (17 March 2008). "MSP Trish Godman Claimed £30,000 To Rent Son's Flat". dailyrecord. London. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  5. "The deputy presiding officer who charged the taxpayer £30,000 for hotel bills". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
  6. Peterkin, Tom (20 April 2011). "Celtic manager Neil Lennon, QC Paul McBride and former MSP Trish Godman targeted with letter bombs". www.scotsman.com. DC Thomson Media. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  7. "Muirhead and McKenzie jailed for Neil Lennon parcel bomb plot". BBC News. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  8. Coulter, Paul John (24 July 2019). "Tributes pour in following the death of former Port Glasgow and Kilmacolm MSP Trish Godman". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  9. "Profile: The 'NatWest Three'". BBC News. BBC. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  10. "Fears for hacker facing extradition". Evening Standard. London. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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