Alex Salmond is either incompetent or misleading MSPs, claims Johann Lamont

ALEX Salmond was accused at today’s First Minister’s question of being either “incompetent” or of “misleading” MSPs over claims that college funding had increased.

• Johann Lamont claims First Minister is either incompetent or misleading MSPs

• Labour leader made claims as she pressed Alex Salmond on college funding

• Alex Salmond was forced to apologise for saying college funding had gone up, a remark contradicted by his own education secretary

Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont made the claim as she demanded to know whether Mr Salmond’s cabinet had discussed reductions to college funding.

The latest row came Mr Salmond was forced to apologise to MSPs last week for telling them four times that he was increasing funding for Scotland’s college sector this year, in what he said was “about as exact an answer as anybody has given to any parliament”.

Figures in the name of Mr Russell had contradicted Mr Salmond’s claims, admitting that revenue funding for colleges was actually falling this year.

Ms Lamont: said “Are we being led to believe that this was not discussed at cabinet and if not why not?

“Please take responsibility for something. Either the first Minister is so incompetent that he doesn’t know if college funding is going up or down or he’s misleading us.”

However, Mr Salmond called on MSPs to accept his apology over the college funding row, which he insisted was made in “good grace”.

He said: “I apologised for my mistake that came from a briefing that suggested college funding had increased.

“I read out the wrong figure from a briefing paper, that’s the explanation.”