Alex Salmond has been caught
red-handed presenting an out-of-date letter to Parliament in a desperate attempt
to back up his claims on EU membership. Scottish Conservative leader Ruth
Davidson MSP has challenged the First Minister to explain whether his failure to
mention a clarification letter from the European Commission contradicting his
position was a muddle or a fiddle.
The correspondence states that a
separate Scotland would not automatically become a member of the EU. Ruth said it was the third time
the First Minister had misled the people of Scotland over Europe, branding him
the “Pinocchio of Scottish politics”. Two weeks ago in the Scottish
Parliament, the First Minister attempted to use a letter from an EC official -
taken from a pro-independence website - to assert a newly independent Scotland
would bypass the ordinary application process to gain membership.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth
Davidson today asked Alex Salmond why he ignored the subsequent letter sent by
the Commission that said the opposite was true. The correspondence was received
by the independent Scottish Parliamentary Information Service (SPICe) at the
beginning of November and stated that the EC’s position on accepting new states
remains unchanged. It repeats the view of EC
President José Manuel Barroso that any country breaking away from
a member state would cease to be part of the EU and would have to reapply for
membership. It comes after Spanish Prime
Minister, Mariano Rajoy, said that if Scotland left the UK it “will be left
outside the EU” and would have to re-apply subject to negotiation with the 28
member states. The foreign ministers of Latvia,
Ireland and the Czech Republic have also warned that if Scotland left the UK,
the country would not have a seamless continuation into Europe.
The revelations over the two EC
letters come after Alex Salmond previously claimed he had legal advice on Europe
when none actually existed. His attempts to keep this fact
from the public resulted in a court case, which cost the taxpayer almost
£20,000.
Scottish Conservative leader
Ruth Davidson MSP said: “Two weeks ago, the First
Minister stood up in the Scottish Parliament and made an amateur attempt to back
up his claims on EU membership by producing a letter he found on the
internet. Now, he has been caught
red-handed presenting an out-of-date letter to Parliament, conveniently ignoring
a later one from the European Commission which blows apart his policy that
Scotland would be fast-tracked into the EU.
“It seems extraordinary to imagine that Scotland’s First Minister would rather browse the internet for answers than check the Parliament for official information, or even contact the Commission direct himself. That is because he would be faced with the inconvenient truth that an independent Scotland would have to negotiate entry into the European Union from the outside. This would mean the opt-outs we currently have, such as the Euro and secure border controls, may no longer apply.
“Three times now, Alex Salmond has misled the public over what an independent Scotland’s position would be within the EU. The First Minister is the Pinocchio of Scottish politics, every time he speaks on Europe his nose grows another inch. If people can’t trust the First Minister on this important issue, how can they trust a word that comes out of his mouth.”
“It seems extraordinary to imagine that Scotland’s First Minister would rather browse the internet for answers than check the Parliament for official information, or even contact the Commission direct himself. That is because he would be faced with the inconvenient truth that an independent Scotland would have to negotiate entry into the European Union from the outside. This would mean the opt-outs we currently have, such as the Euro and secure border controls, may no longer apply.
“Three times now, Alex Salmond has misled the public over what an independent Scotland’s position would be within the EU. The First Minister is the Pinocchio of Scottish politics, every time he speaks on Europe his nose grows another inch. If people can’t trust the First Minister on this important issue, how can they trust a word that comes out of his mouth.”
