David Maddox: Recognition (of sorts) at last!

For more than two years now British government ministers and Whitehall officials have rather tiresomely referred to the Scottish Government as the old rather more demure title the Scottish Executive.

This irritating attempt to look down at Holyrood, started when UK ministers stopped their Scottish Labour counterparts from adopting the government name, has been supported by the London based press, much of which has yet to move beyond May 2007 in its approach to devolution.
But finally it appears that Alex Salmond's administration is finally on the verge of getting its due recognition in London, courtesy of a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Number 10 briefing this morning.
He was trying to fend off questions about the statements made by the PM's best political friend Ed Balls and Mr Brown himself on whether the UK Government wanted Lockerbie bomber Megrahi freed.
In response, the premier's spokesman said: "The most important part is that this was a decision for the Scottish executive government."
"Finally!" a source very close to First Minister Alex Salmond told me a few minutes ago.