From 2003 until 2011, Godman was a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.[3] In 2008, it was revealed she charged 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 benefited in any way.[5]
On her final day in parliament, Godman wore a Celtic F. C. 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 and 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 in 1981,[2] who was a Member of Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde and its predecessor seat from 1983 to 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.[9] Her experience with his extradition inspired her to take an active role in opposing Gary McKinnon's extradition to the United States in a similar case.[10]
Godman died on 21 July 2019 in Clydebank, after fighting with a terminal illness.[3]
