Salmond and Brown to break silence with first meeting in 10 months

ALEX Salmond is to have his first face-to-face meeting with Gordon Brown for 10 months as he responds to criticism that he has deliberately forged a destructive relationship with Westminster.

Business leaders yesterday said the meeting was "long overdue" and called on the two men to set aside their political differences and work together to overcome the economic crisis.

The meeting later this month in London comes after Salmond has faced a barrage of criticism from his opponents for picking fights with Westminster instead of working with Brown as Britain deals with the recession.

The First Minister and Prime Minister will meet at a stand-alone summit that will bring together politicians from all the devolved regions.

David Watt, the executive director of the Institute of Directors, Scotland, said: "I am delighted that this meeting is taking place, but it is long overdue. At any time, one would have thought they should meet more often, but when you see the massive things that are going on and their impact on the economy, it is even more important that they are in touch.

"It may be a global economic downturn, but it has had a massive effect on Scotland. I would imagine that there has been a bit of sloth on both sides when it comes to setting up meetings. But this is not a time for political differences.

"From a business point of view we are not interested in party political points-scoring – this is about getting a solution for this crisis that we are in."

David Lonsdale of CBI Scotland said: "Our message is that it is right that both the UK and the devolved administrations put aside their political differences and work together where possible in order to help firms combat the downturn and prepare the economy for the potential upturn when it comes."

Salmond wrote to Brown requesting a meeting after he was condemned at First Minister's Questions by Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Conservative leader, for not meeting with the Prime Minister since last April.

Last week, David Cameron, the Conservative leader, pledged that he would insist on far closer relations between London and Edinburgh if he defeats Brown at the general election.

In an article for Scotland on Sunday, Cameron said he would end the cross-border rows between Edinburgh and London. He also said it was "amazing" that Salmond and Brown had not met in almost a year.

He argued that if the two men had a better working relationship there would be fewer arguments and more action.

The SNP has been accused of picking fights with Westminster. Last week, they blamed 500m of Westminster cuts for their failure to deliver their key policy of local income tax. Another notable example was the announcement of the 2.3bn Forth crossing without establishing first of all if Westminster would advance the money.

Goldie said yesterday: "I'm glad that there has been this first glimmer of common sense, but it should not have taken my intervention at First Minister's Questions 10 days ago to bang their heads together for this to happen. There should have been a meeting a long time ago to discuss how best to help Scotland weather Labour's economic storm. Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond have to realise that Scotland's best interests must come before their own narrow party interests."

A senior Labour source said: "The whole purpose of Alex Salmond is to pick fights with Westminster in order to further his own political agenda. For example, blaming Westminster for the failure of his local income tax policy. This is just a front. He will do anything to drive Scotland out of the UK."