Another day, another ridiculous revelation emerges about the Scottish government. This time, it’s civil servants who are in hot water for splashing taxpayers’ cash on laser tag, Swingers (no, not that kind) crazy golf and a trip to Edinburgh Zoo. Public cash was also used to foot a £375 bill at Brewhemia, dubbed Scotland’s ‘beer palace’.

The embarrassing details emerged a day after it was reported that £55,000 of taxpayers’ money was used by the SNP to build a library collection – including the purchase of 22 copies of ‘How To Run A Government’. But while these books could have made useful reading for Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Steerpike finds it hard to justify the use of his cash on Play-Doh, on which the Scottish government spent £50. Indeed, the latest data dump of 60,000 credit card entries convinces Mr S that these officials really are just big children — which would perhaps explain why the Scottish government never gets anything done.

Money was also spent on a staff bonding trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens, curling and a £150 ‘bus and boat tour’ in Edinburgh. Another credit card entry, reported by the Daily Record, reveals the purchase of tickets for an escape room for officials to let off steam. Well, Mr S can’t blame civil servants too much for requesting this one —  any alternative reality must be better than the Scottish government’s current mess…