Brief Biography:

•    2005: I was appointed Chair of the Administration Committee in the House of Commons.  This Committee considers the services provided to MPs by the House of Commons.  It also looks at services provided by Parliament, including visitor facilities, the Parliament website and education services.
 
•    2005: The three Aberdeen constituencies merged into two, due to boundary changes. I was elected to represent Aberdeen North.
 
•    2001 - 2005: I was appointed as a Member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
 
•    2001: In the General Election I was re-elected Member of Parliament for Aberdeen Central.
 
•    1999: I moved with Ian McCartney MP, Minister of State at the DTI, to the Cabinet Office, where we were involved with the Government's programmes of Modernisation, eGovernment and Drugs Policy.
  
•    1997: On May 1st in the General Election, with the support of 17,745 voters, I was elected Labour MP for the new seat of Aberdeen Central.  I won with a majority of 10,801.  On my return to Parliament, I was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Ian McCartney MP. In my role as PPS, I was heavily involved in policy development and introduction of the Employment Rights Act (1999). Responsibilities also included the introduction of the National Minimum Wage and the Working Time Regulations.
 
•    1991: I was top goal-scorer for The Westminster Eleven - the House of Commons All-Party football team. I scored the third goal in the North MPs defeat of South MPs in a charity match at Wembley Stadium. This, of course, has nothing at all to do with politics, but is something I am proud of.

 
•    1988-1992: Shadow Minister for Oil and Gas - I played a prominent role in a Shadow Energy Team led successively by Tony Blair and Frank Dobson. I was particularly involved in campaigning for the Health and Safety Executive to take responsibility for offshore safety following the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988.  I also helped develop the Labour Party programme for taxation of the Oil and Gas Industry and the concept of the Petroleum Industry Regulator.
 
•    1987: I was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of Aberdeen South.
 
•    I was born in Edinburgh and left school at the age of 16. I attended night classes and attained qualifications to study law at Dundee University.  After graduating I trained and qualified as a solicitor, working mainly in legal aid and specialising in Child Law and Mental Health Law.  I also worked for a number of trade unions.