AN English SNP MSP has spoken of his "anger and disgust" at Willie Rennie's claim of anti-English rhetoric at the First Minister's coronavirus briefings.
At the weekend, the LibDem leader said that claims that Scotland had almost reached elimination before the virus was "seeded" by travellers from elsewhere was "a desperate attempt to deflect from the responsibility".
Stuart McMillan, who was born in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, told Holyrood that party leaders are not responsible for what their supporters say.
He said: "As an English Scot I'd like to put on record my anger and disgust at the comments from Willie Rennie at the weekend. In his appalling attempt to bring naked constitutional politics into Covid-19 was ill-befitting of any party leader in this chamber.
"I'm sure that Willie Rennie will not have found the FM or any SNP politician spouting the rubbish that he claimed at the weekend. I quote from Mr Rennie: 'Anti-English rhetoric has reared its ugly head at different points throughout this crisis and there is no place for it.'
"Just as he is not responsible for the comments of his supporters, there is no party leader in this parliament that is responsible for the people who support them. Similarly, no party leader is responsible for people who are not members of their party in supporting their particular cause."
Rennie responded: "I think it's an astonishing remark that there have been nationalists right across this country who have been trying to claim that the source of the rise of the virus in Scotland is coming directly from England and that is something that has not been refuted enough by the leadership of the various political parties in this parliament.
"I will stand up and do that at every opportunity because we are one United Kingdom and we should be standing together against this virus rather than trying to divide this country. I regret the comments from Stuart McMillan."
McMillan hit back, saying: "Sadly I regret the comments from Mr Rennie because once again he cannot rise to the occasion on the issue of Covid-19.
"It is clear from the outset that a four nation process to deal with this Covid-19 pandemic was important, it was crucial and it was attempted to be delivered certainly from this Scottish parliament and this Scottish FM.
He concluded: "The Scottish Governement are continuing to press the UK Government to ensure that a sufficient four nation approach does take place, particularly on the necessary funding for Scottish businesses and support for workers in Scotland."
Sturgeon condemned protesters who urged visitors from England not to cross the Scottish Border in July.
insisted the small group of activists – some of whom wore hazmat suits and face masks – did not speak for her.
Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf described the incident as “horrible, reprehensible and vile”.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon condemns Scotland-England Border protesters
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel