# Trish Godman

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trish_Godman
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trish_Godman.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trish_Godman
> Source revision: 1344631393
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Scottish politician (1939–2019)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Trish Godman" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Trish Godman Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament In office 7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011 Serving with Murray Tosh (2003–2007) and Alasdair Morgan (2007–2011) Presiding Officer George Reid Alex Fergusson Preceded by George Reid Succeeded by Elaine Smith Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Renfrewshire In office 6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Constituency abolished Personal details Born Patricia Leonard (1939-10-31)31 October 1939 Glasgow, Scotland, UK Died 21 July 2019(2019-07-21) (aged 79) Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK Party Scottish Labour Spouse Norman Godman Children 3

**Patricia Godman** (née **Leonard**; 31 October 1939 – 21 July 2019) was a [Scottish Labour](/source/Scottish_Labour) politician who served as [Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament](/source/Deputy_Presiding_Officer_of_the_Scottish_Parliament) from 2003-11. She was the [Member of the Scottish Parliament](/source/Member_of_the_Scottish_Parliament) (MSP) for the [West Renfrewshire](/source/West_Renfrewshire_(Scottish_Parliament_constituency)) constituency from [1999](/source/1999_Scottish_Parliament_election) to [2011](/source/2011_Scottish_Parliament_election).

## Background

The daughter of Martin Leonard and Cathie Craig, Godman was a [Glasgow City](/source/Glasgow_City_Council) councillor before entering the [Scottish Parliament](/source/Scottish_Parliament).

After leaving [St Gerard's Senior Secondary School](/source/St._Gerard's_RC_Secondary%2C_Govan) at fifteen, Godman worked with a charity for some time, as a waitress, in a bar, insurance collector and a house mother in a list 'D' school. She later attended [Jordanhill College](/source/Jordanhill_College) where she trained as a social worker.[1] She worked as a [social worker](/source/Social_worker) working in the [East End of Glasgow](/source/East_End_of_Glasgow) from 1979-89.[2]

From 2003-11, Godman was a [Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament](/source/Deputy_Presiding_Officer_of_the_Scottish_Parliament).[3] In 2008, it was revealed she was costing the taxpayer around £30,000 for hotel bills although she was renting a flat from her son Gary Mulgrew.[4] She did not qualify for the rental expenses allowance as her main residence in Glasgow was too close to Holyrood to qualify, but claimed rent rather than hotel expenses. She was entitled to an overnight expenses allowance that permitted MSPs to recoup expenses for each night, which she had paid for the rent of the apartment. It was confirmed that she had neither broken the Parliamentary rules, nor benefitted in any way.[5]

On her final day in parliament, Godman wore a [Celtic FC](/source/Celtic_FC) shirt in Holyrood. A few days later, a bomb addressed to her office was intercepted, with similar devices being sent to Celtic manager [Neil Lennon](/source/Neil_Lennon) and [Paul McBride](/source/Paul_McBride), Lennon's legal representative. It was believed that Godman was targeted for wearing the shirt.[6] Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie were later convicted for sending the bombs.[7]

## Personal life

Godman married her second husband [Norman Godman](/source/Norman_Godman) in 1981,[2] who was the Member of Parliament for [Greenock and Inverclyde](/source/Greenock_and_Inverclyde_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) and its predecessor seat Greenock and Port Glasgow from 1983-2001.[8] She had three sons by her first husband, from whom she separated aged 22 due to his infidelity.[2] One, Gary Mulgrew, was one of the [NatWest Three](/source/NatWest_Three).[9] Her experience with his extradition inspired her to take an active role in opposing [Gary McKinnon](/source/Gary_McKinnon)'s extradition to the United States in a similar case.[10]

Godman died on 21 July 2019 in [Clydebank](/source/Clydebank), after fighting with a terminal illness.[3]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Brydon, Lindsay (26 October 2019). ["Obituary: Trish Godman, social worker and politician"](https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/17796482.obituary-trish-godman-social-worker-politician/). *HeraldScotland*. Herald and Times Group. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 30 May 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Timesobit_2-2) ["Trish Godman"](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/trish-godman-qh0gfxqb7). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obit_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obit_3-1) Ponsonby, Bernard (24 July 2019). ["Obituary: Trish Godman, former Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament"](https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituary-trish-godman-former-deputy-presiding-officer-of-the-scottish-parliament-1-4969851). *[The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman)*. Retrieved 28 July 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Daily Record (17 March 2008). ["MSP Trish Godman Claimed £30,000 To Rent Son's Flat"](http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/msp-trish-godman-claimed-30000-971662). *dailyrecord*. London. Retrieved 9 November 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The deputy presiding officer who charged the taxpayer £30,000 for hotel bills"](http://www.heraldscotland.com/the-deputy-presiding-officer-who-charged-the-taxpayer-pound-30-000-for-hotel-bills-1.828556). *The Herald*. Glasgow. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Peterkin, Tom (20 April 2011). ["Celtic manager Neil Lennon, QC Paul McBride and former MSP Trish Godman targeted with letter bombs"](https://www.scotsman.com/news/celtic-manager-neil-lennon-qc-paul-mcbride-and-former-msp-trish-godman-targeted-letter-bombs-1679106). *www.scotsman.com*. DC Thomson Media. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Muirhead and McKenzie jailed for Neil Lennon parcel bomb plot"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17869217). *BBC News*. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Coulter, Paul John (24 July 2019). ["Tributes pour in following the death of former Port Glasgow and Kilmacolm MSP Trish Godman"](https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/17786375.tributes-pour-following-death-former-port-glasgow-kilmacolm-msp-trish-godman/). *Greenock Telegraph*. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Profile: The 'NatWest Three'"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5176456.stm). *BBC News*. BBC. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Fears for hacker facing extradition"](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/fears-for-hacker-facing-extradition-6740423.html). *Evening Standard*. London. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

## External links

- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: [Trish Godman](https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/trish-godman)

Scottish Parliament New parliament Scotland Act 1998 Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Renfrewshire 1999–2011 Constituency abolished

v t e Former Labour Party MSPs By date first representing Scottish Labour in the Scottish Parliament 1999 Wendy Alexander Scott Barrie Sarah Boyack Rhona Brankin Bill Butler Malcolm Chisholm Cathie Craigie Margaret Curran Susan Deacon Donald Dewar Helen Eadie Patricia Ferguson Sam Galbraith Karen Gillon Trish Godman Rhoda Grant Iain Gray Hugh Henry John Home Robertson Janis Hughes Gordon Jackson Sylvia Jackson Cathy Jamieson Margaret Jamieson Andy Kerr Johann Lamont Marilyn Livingstone Jack McConnell Lewis Macdonald Angus MacKay Kate Maclean Ken Macintosh Maureen Macmillan Paul Martin John McAllion Frank McAveety Tom McCabe Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale Henry McLeish Michael McMahon Duncan McNeil Des McNulty Alasdair Morrison Bristow Muldoon Mary Mulligan Elaine Murray Irene Oldfather Peter Peacock Cathy Peattie Richard Simpson Elaine Smith Elaine Thomson Mike Watson Ian Welsh Karen Whitefield Allan Wilson 2001 Brian Fitzpatrick 2003 Richard Baker Marlyn Glen Christine May 2005 Charlie Gordon 2007 Baron Foulkes of Cumnock James Kelly John Park David Stewart David Whitton 2011 Claudia Beamish Kezia Dugdale Mary Fee Neil Findlay Hanzala Malik Jenny Marra Margaret McCulloch Margaret McDougall Siobhan McMahon Anne McTaggart Graeme Pearson John Pentland Drew Smith 2012 Jayne Baxter 2013 Cara Hilton 2014 Alex Rowley 2016 Lesley Brennan Monica Lennon Richard Leonard Colin Smyth 2021 Foysol Choudhury Pam Duncan-Glancy Paul O'Kane Mercedes Villalba Martin Whitfield 2025 Davy Russell

v t e Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament Presiding officers David Steel (1999–2003) George Reid (2003–2007) Alex Fergusson (2007–2011) Tricia Marwick (2011–2016) Ken Macintosh (2016–2021) Alison Johnstone (2021–2026) Kenneth Gibson (2026–present) Deputy presiding officers Patricia Ferguson (1999–2001) George Reid (1999–2003) Murray Tosh (2001–2007) Trish Godman (2003–2011) Alasdair Morgan (2007–2011) John Scott (2011–2016) Elaine Smith (2011–2016) Linda Fabiani (2016–2021) Christine Grahame (2016–2021) Lewis Macdonald (acting, April 2020) Annabelle Ewing (2021–2026) Liam McArthur (2021–2026) Clare Adamson (2026–present) Katy Clark (2026–present)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trish Godman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trish_Godman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trish_Godman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.