The Herald: "Margo MacDonald, the Independent MSP, has written to Holyrood's presiding officer criticising the handling of the case of the four socialist members who staged a protest in the chamber and the severity of the their punishment.
Colin Fox, Scottish Socialist party leader, and his colleagues Carolyn Leckie, Rosie Kane and Frances Curran, were banned from the parliament for a month, without salaries, staff allowances or expenses, for their 30-minute protest in the chamber after claiming Holyrood had failed to recognise the right of people to protest at the G8 summit.
The Lothian MSP speaks of her 'serious reservations concerning the appropriateness of the disciplinary measures decided on by the standards committee and the process adopted by parliament' caused by a rush to judgment last week that did not result in 'best practice'.
She said in her letter to George Reid: 'We created a precedent and I fear that a great many, perhaps most, of us made the decision to exclude four SSP MSPs without having taken enough time to consider the matter fully.
'I am unsure as to how the penalty imposed regarding the loss of MSPs' allowances will impact on the staff employed by the four SSP members concerned. This is only one example of where a longer cooling-off period might have yielded a more considered decision. It was a heavy-handed way to deal with an incident in which no business was lost, there was no violence and no foul language.'
At yesterday's G8 Alternatives summit in Edinburgh's Usher Hall, Mr Fox launched a public fund-raising appeal to help the party pay for the loss of wages. He said the month outside the parliament would be used to campaign across the country."