Salmond’s ‘breathtaking hypocrisy’ over donor

ALEX Salmond has been accused of “hiding behind the Queen’s robes” after his government said that palace rules banned it from publishing more details of the controversial decision to hand a knighthood to the SNP’s biggest donor, Stagecoach owner Sir Brian Souter.

A Scottish Government response to a freedom of information (FOI) request about information held on Sir Brian, who helped to bankroll the SNP’s election campaign this year with £500,000, was rejected on the grounds that the information “relates to the exercise by Her Majesty of Her prerogative of honour”.

The response sparked a fresh political row over the SNP government’s role in the decision to honour Sir Brian, after it previously emerged that the nomination of the bus tycoon for a knighthood “came from the Scottish Government”.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray yesterday accused Mr Salmond’s nationalist administration of “breathtaking hypocrisy” over the decision to “invoke the monarchy”.

An FOI request by Mr Gray’s party about all communications between the Scottish Government and Sir Brian was rejected by officials on the grounds of an “exemption” because the “information relates to the exercise by Her Majesty of Her prerogative of honour”.

Mr Gray said: “This is breathtaking hypocrisy by Alex Salmond and the Nationalists to invoke the monarchy of the United Kingdom to cover up the SNP’s involvement in the cash-for-honours scandal.

“While the irony of this shameless behaviour will be lost on the Nationalists, this is another sign of the First Minister’s lack of commitment to openness and transparency in government.”

Ministers yesterday faced fresh call to publish all details of the administration’s role in Sir Brian’s knighthood, with Labour MP Tom Harris attacking that the Scottish Government’s latest response on the issue as “bizarre”.

The Scottish Government said SNP ministers were not directly involved in the decision to award honours.