Scott in trouble again

Sir Nicholas Scott, the former Cabinet minister, faced a new threat to his political career after being taken back to his hotel by the police after an Irish Embassy party in Bournemouth early yesterday morning.

A spokesman for Dorset police confirmed that a man was found in the street outside the main Conservative conference hotel and driven to his own hotel, but refused to confirm his name because no one had been arrested or charged.

In March, Sir Nicholas was narrowly endorsed as the Tory candidate for his Chelsea seat. Within days, he was banned from driving for a year for drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident in which he trapped a three-year-old boy between two cars. John Rentoul