High blood pressure keeps Foulkes away

LOTHIANS MSP and Labour peer George Foulkes is missing this weekend's Scottish Labour Conference in Aviemore after being taken ill in London.

Mr Foulkes – who was due to deliver the warm-up speech ahead of Wendy Alexander's keynote address tomorrow – is suffering from high blood pressure. He checked himself into hospital on Tuesday evening after a severe nose bleed. He was released the following morning, but became ill again at the House of Lords and was returned to hospital.

A spokeswoman for Mr Foulkes said he was very disappointed to be missing the conference. But she said he was returning to Scotland last night and the Scottish Parliament recess which started yesterday would give him two weeks to "get back on his feet".