Jack Right Man For Both Jobs

FORMER first minister Jack McConnell is facing calls from the SNP to resign his Holyrood seat.

A committee of MPs said it would be "unsatisfactory" for him to continue as an MSP while preparing for his next job, as an impartial Government diplomat in Malawi.

And the SNP - who are licking their lips at the prospect of a by-election - urged him to go now.

He should feel under no pressure to quit.

McConnell is acknowledged on all sides as a great choice as the next High Commissioner to Malawi.

He forged the historic pact to make the land of Scots explorer David Livingstone Scotland's "twin country".

The move has not only boosted cash help for one of the world's poorest nations, it has created new and permanent ties between Scots and Malawians.

Both countries benefit.

McConnell will care more about his new job than a faceless Foreign Office mandarin no doubt disappointed to have been overlooked for a posting at the French embassy.

The fact that McConnell continues to represent the people of Motherwell and Wishaw has no bearing on the job he is about to do for the people of Lilongwe or Zomba.

It is not even as if he is a frontline politician any longer.

His critics should shut up if they cannot welcome the news that Britain is sending the right man to a country that has already won the hearts of thousands of Scots.