and ALISON CHIESA

GLASGOW Cathedral has appointed a new minister following the retirement of its incumbent, the Rev William James Morris, after 40 years' service.

Members of the congregation unanimously elected the Rev Laurence Whitley to the role.

Mr Whitley, 57, who was born in Port Glasgow and raised in the Partick area of the city, called his appointment a "considerable honour".

He said: "I'm very conscious that this is a considerable honour, and of the place the cathedral holds in the affections of people in the city. I have such strong memories of coming to the cathedral as a boy and looking up in awe at its ceiling."

The father-of-two will be Glasgow Cathedral's 25th minister since the Reformation.

Mr Whitley, who recently celebrated his silver wedding anniversary, was ordained at Busby East Link with West Church in 1975.