Alex Salmond attacks £191m 'betrayal' over fossil fuel levy

ALEX Salmond has stepped up his campaign to get the UK coalition government to hand over a £191 million green energy fund to Scotland, writes Tom Peterkin.

Writing in Scotland on Sunday today, the First Minister reveals he has written to David Cameron demanding that the Prime Minister unlocks the fossil fuel levy without any strings attached.

It had been assumed the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats would release the cash as part of the new government's its respect agenda with Scotland. However, Salmond claims he has been betrayed by Westminster because of the conditions on the deal imposed by Cameron.

As part of the coalition deal, Scotland would receive 250m from the proposed Green Investment Bank. Today Salmond says: "That offer is a gigantic ruse and a blatant betrayal of that Lib Dem promise to release the fossil fuel levy funds to Scotland in a way that is additional to our budget.

"It would involve Scotland surrendering the current 191m from the levy in return for a Treasury pledge to ring-fence 250m for Scotland from the proposed Green Investment Bank - an institution that … won't be up and running until 2013-14 at the earliest."