MSPs left locked out by security gates

SCOTTISH Parliament chief executive Paul Grice and four MSPs found themselves locked out when they arrived for work by car at Holyrood.

Contractors installing thousands of pounds worth of new security measures at the parliament's underground car park had closed the entrance gates despite earlier promises to maintain access throughout the four-week project.

One MSP said: "They said they had to close the entrance to carry out whatever piece of work they were doing, but I was raging. We had been assured one lane would always be kept open. They told me to go and park in Dynamic Earth."

A parliament spokeswoman said: "The vehicle gates were temporarily closed for approximately 30 minutes yesterday morning between 9.30am – 10am as part of the installation of a new vehicle entry system. We have apologised to those members inconvenienced as we appreciate this was not an ideal situation."