Taxpayers foot the bill for Alex Salmond’s lavish banquets

ALEX Salmond’s government splashed out thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ cash on lavish dinners and gala events where guests included backers of the SNP, election candidates and senior ministers in the Nationalist administration.

The First Minister was accused of “abusing” the generosity of the taxpayer, after it emerged he spent more than £16,000 on a luxury banquet and evening of entertainment at Edinburgh Castle in honour of a delegation from the Chinese government, led by the vice-premier Li Keqiang.

Guests at the event, held ahead of the 2011 Holyrood elections, included tycoon Jim McColl, the millionaire chairman of Clyde Blowers, who praised Mr Salmond as the “best man for the job” in one of the most high-profile businesses endorsements of the SNP during last year’s campaign,

Mr Salmond also spent nearly £5,000 on five meals at his official residence of Bute House for guests between January and May’s election last year, where those offered hospitality at the taxpayers’ expenses included Mr McColl and Joan McAlpine, then an SNP candidate for the Holyrood elections, who is now serving as an MSP and a ministerial aide to the First Minister.

Senior SNP ministers, such as Michael Russell, Keith Brown, Fiona Hyslop and Roseanna Cunningham, were among those on a guest list of well over 50 at the banquet for the Chinese government, with those attending treated to a slap-up meal of Scottish salmon, haggis and beef during an evening of musical entertainment, at the taxpayers’ expense.

Full details of the £16,060 event, which included £9,605 on food and drink alone, were revealed following a year-long battle between The Scotsman and the SNP government over the release of documents about the banquet under freedom of information documents.