STEWART PATERSON
AFORMER Russian spy and his daughter are the victims of an assassination attempt using poison in an English street and somehow 11 days later it turns into a squabble between the Tories and the SNP. In an attempt to rise above petty political pointscoring, Ruth Davidson plumbed the depths with her weekly grilling of Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions.
The First Minister for her part couldn’t help herself in taking the opportunity to throw some mud, albeit she was provoked.
The Tory leader began by asking serious and seemingly genuine questions of the First Minister.
She wanted to know about the preparedness of the emergency services to respond should such an attack take place on the streets of a Scottish town or city.
Her questions were met with the serious response it merited. And from then on it spiralled downwards.
His name wasn’t mentioned but everyone knew who the real target was.
With her next question, Ruth obviously had enough of being concerned for the citizenry in the event of a Russian sponsored assassination plot and got down to the real matter in hand.
How can this be made to look bad for the SNP?
Russian propaganda is being “pumped into our living rooms” she said, invoking visions of an Orwellian 1984 style telescreen.
Of course, what she was referring to being pumped into our living rooms was Alex Salmond and his show on Russia Today. She was as subtle as an exploding cigar. In not mentioning Mr Salmond by name, the First Minister didn’t have to try and defend him, although in this case she most likely wouldn’t.
But it did allow Ms Sturgeon to bring out her not-so-secret weapon in this battle.
Her poison-tipped umbrella in the form of Russian donations made to the Scottish Tory party. Red Ruth taking the rouble? Surely not. Ms Davidson persisted though and tried again to get her opponent to light the cigar she had handed her.
Ms Sturgeon left the Zippo in her pocket however, and instead waved the poison-tipped brolly back across the chamber again.
There is a time and a place in this debate about Russian influence in the UK and the merits and motivations of Alex Salmond hosting his show on RT.
The SNP will be embarrassed and less than pleased by its former leader putting his party in this position
But he is no longer an elected politician and not under orders from Nicola Sturgeon, so the floor of the Scottish Parliament is hardly the place for it to be questioned, unless of course heaping on more embarrassment is the aim.
The astonishing events in Salisbury might be like something from a James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig.
This, however, was more like a cack-handed attempt by the Wile E Coyote to trap the elusive Roadrunner from Cartoon Cavalcade, starring Glenn Michael. No cigar, not even close.