Three Cultural Ambassadors Edinburgh can do without

The dust on the major Edinburgh Festivals has barely settled and already there's talk about how the city can most effectively promote its offering to the wider world. Tweleve celebrities who hail from, or have strong connections with, the Scottish capital have been selected to help promote the city's festivals to the wider world.

Listed below are three Ambassadors that the Edinburgh Festivals would probably rather not have champion their collective cause:

1. Kenny MacAskill - The Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Parliament sparked a storm of outrage on both sides of the Atlantic with his decision to release, on compassionate grounds, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the man convicted to life imprisonment for the murder of 270 people in the Lockerbie bombing which took place in 1988. Mr Al Megrahi was given a hero's welcome on his return to Libya. Almost 200 US citizens were killed in the flight and there have already been calls, in some quarters, for Americans to boycott travelling to Scotland and stop buying Scottish produce.

VERDICT: No doubt he has some qualities, but Mr MacAskill is not great Ambassador material, particularly in the worst recession since the 1930s and during Homecoming Scotland 2009, which is meant to celebrate the virtues of all things Scottish.

2. Sir Fred Goodwin - The former Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland helped bring a proud institution to the brink of disaster, which was only averted when £20bn of taxpayers' money was injected to save the bank. To compound matters, Sir Fred was reported as having a pension pot of £16.6m at the end of last year, giving him an annual salary of £693,000.

VERDICT: Sir Fred did not commit any crime, but as Tom Geoghegan and Finlo Rohrer, writing on the BBC website in March put it, he was :"at best guilty of naivety and poor decision-making, at worst recklessness".

3. Deacon Brodie - William Brodie died on the gallows in 1788. The seemingly respectable cabinet maker led a double life. By day, Brodie epitomised the respectable tradesmen, as president of the largest incorporated guild in Edinburgh, a councillor of the burgh and a carpenter to the well heeled. However, by night he liked to drink, gamble and womanise the nights away. In order to fund his various vices and illegitimate offspring, Brodie turned to crime. He would create a wax copy of the key for the properties where he worked and then, with the aid of an accomplice, have a copy made, which would enable him to return to the abode to steal any valuables.

VERDICT - If he were alive today, you wouldn't want him representing your city. Would probably go to town on the complimentary buffet before stealing the crokery - and the PowerPoint projector.

Listeners can hear much more about Deacon Brodie, his life, his crimes, and arrest; and the Edinburgh born novelist who was inspired by Brodie's life story with the Royal Mile & More, audio guide. To hear an audio sample from the Royal Mile & More tour please click here.

Buy one tour and get a second free by entering the following promotional code in the shopping basket page: BI123.