Love-bombed then dive-bombed, Salmond says of UK

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE: Alex Salmond will accuse the UK government of pursuing a “Dambusters strategy” to oppose independence, as the SNP leader uses a speech in London to dismiss a series of interventions by Westminster politicians in the referendum.

Alex Salmond: Says Westminster has pursued 'Dambusters strategy'. Picture: Jane Barlow

Mr Salmond will make the claim in a lecture for the left-leaning New Statesman magazine, entitled Scotland’s Future in Scotland’s Hands tonight. The First Minister will say that Scotland was “love-bombed” by David Cameron, then “dive-bombed at close range” by Chancellor George Osborne, who ruled out the SNP’s plans to share the pound as part of a formal currency union in the event of a Yes vote.

He will say: “People in Scotland have seen an array of approaches from the UK government – what they apparently call their ‘Dambusters’ strategy. We were love-bombed from a distance by David Cameron, then dive-bombed at close range by George Osborne.

“I believe George Osborne’s speech on sterling three weeks ago – his ‘sermon on the pound’ – will come to be seen as a monumental error.

“It encapsulates the diktats from on high which are not the strength of the Westminster elite, but rather their fundamental weakness.”

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