HIS moustache has been regarded as his trademark for many years, but now MP John Thurso has been honoured for the rest of his facial hair.
For the hirsute Lib Dem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has won the title of Parliamentary Beard 2008, following in the footsteps of famous beardies such as Robin Cook and David Blunkett.
The award, which was given by the Beard Liberation Front (BLF), recognises those MPs who have given facial hair a positive image in the past 12 months.
Other former winners include George Galloway, Jeremy Corbyn and Frank Dobson.
Appropriately, Lord Thurso said he was “gobsmacked” when the Press and Journal broke news of the award to him yesterday.
He said: “For 20 years I have had a bushy moustache, which has become a kind of trademark.
“But I was on holiday three years ago and couldn’t be bothered to shave.
“When I returned, I fully expected groans from my wife and children to say I should shave it off.
“But the children said they liked it and my wife said that if you’re going to have hair, then you should have a lot of it, so I kept it.”
Party workers also asked him to keep the beard so they would not have to re-do photographs on party leaflets.
He added: “It is interesting that people feel they can tell you what they think of it and say you look wonderful with a beard. I wonder what they thought before.
“I will probably revert back to just the moustache in the future, but for now I am happy with the beard.”
BLF organiser Keith Flett said: “John Thurso is a relatively new but highly-distinguished beard in the Commons, underlining that hirsuteness in parliament is becoming an increasingly important issue as MPs seek to add to their political gravitas and weight by seeking to impress with their appearance.”