A lionness defening her cubs would bave nothing on Alistair Carmichael in defence of the island communities he represents.

Alistair’s constituents from Shetland had booked a car hire in Glasgow. Europcar insisted they present their passports, which they hadn’t thought to bring given that they come from Shetland, clearly part of the UK. They were told that this was because they were from a “British island”. They were later told that this is defined as “one who, at the time of rental, is not resident in the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland. Included in this definition are residents of the Shetland, Orkneys, Hebrides, Isle of Man, Isle of Scilly, Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight.”

They therefore ended up stranded and out of pocket. After Alistair’s intervention, they got heir money back but have not changed their absolute nonsense of a policy.

Alistair explained in a video:

Alistair said:

This is an utterly bizarre policy on the part of Europcar. At best it is a mistake, but one which demonstrates woeful ignorance on the part of the company or their staff about the basic composition of the United Kingdom. At worst it is intentional and wholly unjustified discrimination against people from island communities.

Shetland is as much a part of the United Kingdom as anywhere else. It is unclear why residents of any UK island community – whether Shetland, Orkney or indeed the Isle of Wight – should be treated differently from residents of mainland communities when hiring a vehicle within the UK.

There is no justification for islanders to be treated less favourably or subjected to unclear and unjustified requirements when accessing services on the mainland. I shall expect a clear explanation from Europcar on these points – and an apology to my constituents – in the coming days.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social