Give us a clue
They never write, they never phone.
The lament of the spurned down the generations was heard at Westminster this afternoon.
MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee were considering the degree of communication between the UK and Scottish governments.
In general - and with particular regard to .
Why, asked the SNP's Pete Wishart, didn't the UK Government keep Edinburgh up to speed when a preliminary memorandum of understanding was being negotiated with Libya?
Because, said Jack Straw, the justice secretary, this was a very wide-ranging document, involving very complex and sensitive diplomacy.
The detailed implications for Scotland - the potential transfer of al Megrahi - were, rightly, discussed subsequently with ministers in Scotland.
Prisoner transfer
Mr Straw argued further that it was constantly made clear to Libya - and fully understood by them - that any actual decision with regard to al Megrahi was one for Scotland.
That subsequently, he said, proved to be the case when prisoner transfer was rejected
Further, he said he had tried to have the Megrahi case excluded from the prisoner transfer agreement. No dice, the Libyans wouldn't agree.
Give us a clue, said the committee. Did you support the option - which the Scottish Government ultimately pursued - of releasing al Megrahi on compassionate grounds? Mr Straw, repeatedly, declined to offer his opinion.
Still on the topic of communication, the Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy was asked about relations with the Scottish government.
(Actually, he called them a government; committee members, mostly, referred to the Executive.)
Secretary role
Why, asked Labour's Ian Davidson, did ministers and civil servants in Edinburgh not consistently consult the Scotland Office when they were seeking to clarify an issue with Whitehall departments?
Mr Murphy was emollient. Perhaps, he soothed, they simply didn't want to waste money on a letter to a department which they didn't think should exist.
Despite that, Mr Murphy was adamant that there was a role for a Scottish secretary in the UK Cabinet.
Indeed, he went further, implying that his energy in the post had "repaired the damage and mistake" of previously having a part-time SofS.
I'm 
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