Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore has been criticised after comments leaked in press revelations revealed that the Lib Dem MP had difficulty working with his Tory coalition colleague Liam Fox.
Westminster SNP Leader and Defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP has attacked Mr Moore and questioned his commitment to working for the people of Scotland with defence cuts threatening base closures.
At present two out of three RAF bases in Scotland are facing closure and uniformed service personnel will be reduced by 25% to around only 8,000.
Secret recordings show the Lib Dem MP saying “I mean Liam Fox [the Defence Secretary] and I probably couldn’t stay in the same situation for very long if we were going through a big, long menu of issues”.
Angus Robertson MP said:
“Scotland is facing a long list of disproportionate defence cuts and we now learn that the Scottish Secretary doesn’t feel able to deal with the Defence Secretary.
“We need clarity from Michael Moore whether he is going to bat for Scotland or continue to act against his principles and the interests of people in Scotland. The future of defence bases, service families and local communities is at stake and we need ministers who will fight for them.
“This underlines why defence decisions should be taken in Scotland, and not left as a plaything for Westminster politicians.”
Mr Moore was also reported as saying he privately disagreed with the tripling of tuition fees for students in England – a move which has significant implications for higher education in Scotland. The senior Lib Dem described his party’s ‘U’ turn on the issue as the “worst crime” politicians can commit.
Commenting on Mr Moore’s hypocritical stance on tuition fees SNP Work and Pensions Spokesperson, Dr Eilidh Whiteford added:
“This is devastating for the Lib Dems in Scotland – Michael Moore has shown them to be utterly devoid of principle. Their duplicitous conduct over tuition fees, which Michael Moore voted for publicly but privately condemns, shows why the LibDems just can’t be trusted.
“These revelations are not just hugely embarrassing they are the death knell of the LibDems as a progressive party either north of south of the Border.”
The Scottish MP was one of a number of senior Lib Dems who were secretly recorded by journalists from The Telegraph newspaper.
Meanwhile
SNP Ministers have taken action to support Scottish communities suffering from the uncertainty created by the UK Government’s strategic defence and security review.
Read more here: Scottish News
