John Swinney has suggested Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander could be “reshuffled out of existence” by next weekend, escalating a bitter war of words between the two men.
The First Minister made the comments during a campaign visit in Glasgow on Saturday, continuing a clash that erupted this week over US President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap the 10% tariff on Scotch whisky following a visit by the King.
Mr Alexander, who also serves as Scottish Labour’s election campaign co-chairman, had called Mr Swinney’s claim that he put whisky on the agenda a “lie”. The First Minister, in turn, accused the Scotland Office boss of damaging relations between the Scottish and UK governments.
Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Swinney said he had not spoken to the Scottish Secretary since the announcement and would wait until after the election.
“I saw him on Thursday night at a dinner and we had a really pleasant conversation,” the First Minister said. “Then, later on that night, he was absolutely using language I think is unworthy of a Secretary of State for Scotland.
“I think we’ll maybe let the election campaign pass, let him relax a little bit, because he’s obviously a bit agitated, and we’ll see where things stand. He, of course, might be reshuffled out of existence by the weekend.”
The First Minister reiterated that a meeting he had with the US president last summer first put the issue on his radar, a claim supported by a note from Mr Trump offering “congratulations” and stating the First Minister was “a very big part of my thinking”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, speaking during a campaign stop in Glasgow, downplayed the role of individual politicians. “Honestly, this is not about individual politicians, the credit here goes to, largely, His Majesty the King, because he’s the one that got this over the line and got the deal done,” he said.
Mr Sarwar also credited “Scotland’s businesses, Scotland’s producers and Scotland’s employees who are making a fantastic product that we’re able to sell right around the world”, but suggested the First Minister was “over-egging” his involvement.
“John Swinney might think it’s about him, other politicians might think it’s about them, I think it’s about great Scottish produce, great Scottish companies and great Scottish workers,” he added.
The Scottish Secretary told LBC that Mr Swinney’s claim of bringing whisky tariffs to the president’s attention was a “lie”, accusing him of being “caught red-handed” taking credit for a deal secured by the King.
In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for Mr Alexander said: “The First Minister is of course at liberty to visit other countries and promote Scottish exports, but for him to claim that ‘this issue got put on the agenda because I put it there’ is simply not true. The British Government was raising the whisky issue long before and long after his DC visit.”
Mr Swinney has said it was his meeting with the president at his golf course in July, not his later White House visit, that put the issue on the agenda.
