First Minister foots bill to host wedding

Published on 03/09/2012 00:00

SCOTLAND’S First Minister spent thousands of pounds of his own money to host a wedding for his Chinese interpreter.

Alex Salmond allowed Mandarin-speaker Isabel Hui Liu to marry for free last month at Bute House, the first minister’s publicly funded Georgian mansion, as well as paying for all the catering himself.

The SNP leader is said to be very close to Miss Hui Liu, who has accompanied Mr Salmond on several visits to China since he became First Minister.

Mr Salmond has been determined to build a strong relationship with the Chinese government and not being fluent in the language means he relies on Miss Hui Liu to get his message across on official visits.

Mr Salmond can use Bute House for personal purposes under the government’s ministerial code, as long as there is no cost to the taxpayers.