Tartan army vents its fury over 'slur' by Blair

"These attacks weren't at football matches or at tartan army events, and for the Prime Minister to say it has something to do with the tartan army, he needs to take another good look at this." - JOHN KAYLOR, TARTAN ARMY

Story in full TONY Blair sparked a furious response north of the Border last night when he claimed that the reputation of Scotland's football fans had been damaged by anti-English attacks in Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

The Prime Minister was responding to news of two attacks, one on a seven-year-old boy and one on a disabled man, both of whom were assaulted for wearing English football shirts.

Mr Blair condemned the "appalling and unjustified attacks" and told MPs at Westminster that he agreed the assaults had "besmirched the reputation" of the tartan army.

But his claim brought an angry response from supporters' organisations and from politicians.

John Kaylor, the chairman of the Perthshire tartan army, said: "It's shocking, it's a disgrace and a slur. It's ridiculous that it should have been brought up in the Commons, let alone mentioning the tartan army in the same breath [as the attacks].

"These attacks weren't at football matches or at tartan army events, and for the Prime Minister to say it has something to do with the tartan army, he needs to take another good look at this."

Hamish Husband, a spokesman for the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, said of the attacks: "It's just criminal, terrible, but this is nothing to do with the tartan army. The two people who perpetrated these crimes are not football fans."

Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, called on all of Labour's senior politicians to be more careful with their words.

He said: "Tony Blair knows next to nothing about football, nothing about the tartan army and very little about Scotland, and so he should beware of demeaning Scottish football supporters, even by implication."

Mr Blair's controversial comments also brought the Prime Minister into conflict with Jack McConnell, who made it clear he believed the attacks were perpetrated by "mindless thugs" who probably had no connection to football or the tartan army.

A spokesman for Mr McConnell said: "The First Minister's view is the tartan army has got a fantastic reputation. He thinks these attacks have taken place because of mindless thugs. I think there would be a strong suspicion: are these people real football fans?"

The political row over the anti-English assaults in Scotland has fuelled the controversy over Mr McConnell's decision not to support England in the World Cup. The First Minister said he would support Trinidad and Tobago, who were among England's first-round opponents, as well as "underdogs" and "teams with flair" - but not England.

One London conference organiser has cancelled an event in Scotland in response to Mr McConnell's remarks and the First Minister has been accused of helping to perpetuate antagonism towards England by failing to support his neighbour.

The World Cup has brought the worst edge of that antagonism into the public spotlight, particularly with the attacks on two vulnerable people just for wearing English strips.

On Saturday, seven-year-old Hugo Clapshaw was wearing an England shirt and enjoying a kickabout with his father in an Edinburgh park when he was attacked. Damon Clapshaw, 34, who comes from New Zealand, was with his wife and three children in Inverleith Park when a man approached Hugo and hit him over the head, shouting: "You f****** English."

Mr Clapshaw was set upon by the man, who punched and kicked him while screaming: "This is Scotland, not f****** England."

The father feared the man, who he said was 6ft and wearing a Puffa jacket, would stab him, as he appeared to be reaching for a knife in his pocket.

"I ran after him to ask why he hit Hugo. He then unzipped his jacket and was touching the crest of his Rangers shirt," the father said. "I couldn't believe this was happening."

In Aberdeen, police are hunting a man who attacked Ian Smith, a disabled driver, because he was wearing an England shirt and flying a St George's Cross from his car.

Mr Smith, an Englishman who has lived in Aberdeen for 12 years, was punched and kicked in an unprovoked attack as he waited to collect a friend's daughter from school.

He was dragged from his vehicle and left with a badly bruised right eye following the assault, which went on for five minutes.

Mr Smith told The Scotsman: "I am convinced I was assaulted purely because I had an England flag on display in the car and was wearing an England shirt. I was called 'a f****** English bastard' by the man who assaulted me.

"I was just sitting in my car, listening to the radio commentary on the Germany game, when the guy grabbed the flag and, before I could lock the doors, wrenched me out of the car."

He added: "I can understand rivalry and people who want to support their own teams, and if people don't want to support England that's fine. But that's no excuse for attacking me."

Anne Begg, the Labour MP for Aberdeen South, raised the attack in Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, asking Mr Blair whether he agreed the incident "besmirched the reputation, not just of Aberdeen, but of the tartan army".

The Prime Minister replied: "I think you are absolutely right, both in what you say and the tone in which you say it, and I'm sure everyone condemns what was an appalling and totally unjustified attack."

A Downing Street spokesman insisted later that Mr Blair had not meant to offend the tartan army or Scottish football supporters.

The spokesman said: "What the Prime Minister was agreeing with was Anne Begg's clear assertion that attacks like these should be seen for what they are, which is a disgrace."

Mr Blair was "absolutely not" criticising Scottish fans, the spokesman said, endorsing Ms Begg's view of tartan army members as peaceful supporters.

Mr McConnell's spokesman insisted he had never fostered anti-English feeling.

"The First Minister has never encouraged anybody to be anti-English. He has repeated the fact that this should be about enjoying the World Cup," said the spokesman. "He is also of the view that no-one should try to make excuses for this type of attack; they are mindless acts of violence."

Kenny MacAskill, for the SNP, said the attacks were racist and should be prosecuted as such.

He told BBC Scotland that Scots sometimes tried to "delude" themselves that racism only took place south of the Border. But it has happened.

"It's unacceptable, and it's unacceptable whether you victimise somebody because they are English, wearing an English shirt, or whether they are black, Muslim, Arab, or whatever," said Mr MacAskill.

• Last night, an Edinburgh businessman offered a 1,000 reward to anyone who helps the police to catch and convict Hugo Clapshaw's attacker.

Charles Pottinger, who runs the Military Shine cleaning firm in the capital, said: "I am absolutely infuriated by this, and not just because it was a child.

"The attack was mindless and needless," he said.