Morning Briefing: John Elvidge named as new airport boss Published on Monday 14 May 2012 08:49 SCOTLAND'S former top civil servant will be appointed chair of Edinburgh Airport once its takeover is completed next month. Sir John Elvidge, who was permanent secretary to the Scottish Government for seven years until 2010, has been named as the new airport boss by Global Infrastructure Partners, which last month won the auction for the airport with an £807 million bid. Sir John retired from his £185,000-a-year government post in June 2010 after accruing a pension pot of £1.7 million. He received a tax-free payment of £225,000 plus an annual pension of £75,000. He takes up his new role on June 1, subject to approval from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which advises on appointments taken up by former civil servants within two years of them leaving their posts. OVERSEAS shoppers are putting George Street on a par with London's Bond Street when it comes to luxury shopping, according to retail analysts. Designer brands, such as Louis Vuitton, are popular with Chinese and Russian visitors, while Brazilians opt for brands such as Topshop on Princes Street, says a study carried out by Global Blue. It found tax free spending was up 75 per cent year on year thanks to shoppers from growing economies. Experts said the spending rise is due to investment in the city centre. Richard Brown, vice president of Global Blue UK, said: "Edinburgh is at last gaining recognition for its shopping offering." The National Library of Scotland has received more than £2 million of funding to revamp a key storage area. Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop announced that the money would be spent on redeveloping the NLS Causewayside building in Edinburgh, which houses half the national collection. The exterior of the Causewayside building is to be replaced and the building will be turned into a "low energy storage space." Martyn Wade, chief executive of the NLS, said: "This funding support is very welcome in helping to meet our future plans on collecting and safeguarding the knowledge of Scotland." Around £60,00 has been spent draining and repairing mis-fuelled police vehicles in Scotland in the past five years - with more than £5000 spent on a car in the Lothian and Borders force area. The incident, in which a BMW had been run after it was mis-fuelled, cost the force £5221.53. A spokesman said: "The job was carried out at a BMW dealer to keep the warranty valid, therefore there were high labour costs as well." Campaign group Taxpayer Scotland said simple measures such as reminders on fuel caps should be used.