Salmond's 'credibility damaged'

Oct 24 2012

The First Minister's opponents have sought to heap more pressure on him, insisting his credibility is damaged after it emerged that his Government has not yet taken legal advice on a key issue linked to independence.

Labour claimed Alex Salmond's credibility is "fatally damaged" and demanded he make an emergency statement on the issue.

The Tories said that trust in the SNP administration has been "blown apart".

It comes after Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed that the Scottish Government only commissioned "specific legal advice" from its law officers on an independent Scotland's membership of the European Union.

Opposition politicians turned on Mr Salmond, saying that during a television interview he appeared to say that he did take legal advice.

In March the BBC's Andrew Neil asked Mr Salmond directly if he sought advice on the question of Scotland's future in Europe. The First Minister told him: "We have, yes, in terms of the debate."

Mr Salmond appeared before Holyrood to insist that he was "talking about the issue of Scotland's EU membership in terms of general debate, and in terms of the many eminent legal opinions offered".

Labour's Paul Martin accused the First Minister of telling "barefaced lies".

Fellow Labour MSP Jackie Baillie has now demanded that Mr Salmond make an emergency statement to Holyrood as she too accused him of lying.

The Tories also went on the attack, arguing that the SNP leader misled the public.