Stand-in chief for tourist board

The industry was scrutinised by the review

An interim chief executive has been appointed by the Scottish Tourist Board.

Former civil servant Peter McKinlay will hold the post until a permanent successor to Tom Buncle is found.

Mr Buncle's resignation was announced last week as Enterprise Minister Wendy Alexander met tourism chiefs following a major review of the industry.

The review recommended a radical shake-up, and renaming, of the organisation as Visitscotland.

Mr McKinlay is a former director of the Scottish Prison Service and former chief executive of Scottish Homes.

Announcing his appointment, board chairman Lord Gordon said: "Peter McKinlay has an outstanding reputation for bringing stability to organisations during periods of considerable change, while still engineering those changes."

Mr McKinlay said: "Tourism is now so important to the Scottish economy that we must develop our partnership with the industry to win more business for Scotland and provide visitors with a great experience when they are here."

Lord Gordon, chairman of the board since 1998, will stand down in February, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.

The review, by management consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there was "confusion and ambiguity" among senior management, and identified a tendency to adopt defensive behaviour in the face of challenge and change.