Salmond looks for winning ticket with celebrities

Alex Salmond demanded tickets for the award-winning Black Watch play so that he could entertain celebrities at the theatrical production.

Actors Ewan McGregor and Ashley Jensen, singer Sandi Thom and a Disney executive were among those given seats at the behest of the First Minister, according to information retrieved by the Tories under Freedom of Information.

The tickets were sought for performances in Scotland, Brussels and the US from publicly funded bodies.

The First Minister had a 150-strong guest list for a performance of Black Watch in Edinburgh in 2007. At another performance of the play shortly after, in Los Angeles, the First Minister demanded a further 17 tickets. Tory MSP John Lamont said: “We saw from Alex Salmond’s recent launch to break-up Britain just how fond he is of mixing it with celebrities to further his plans for separation.”

A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: “The Tories are scraping the bottom of the barrel with this and their attack has backfired.  Black Watch was shown in 2007 to mark the opening of the Scottish Parliament, with free tickets for veterans groups and charities, thanks to a donation by the Clydesdale Bank, with tickets distributed to their charities.”