SALMOND’S CHAT-SHOW SLAPDOWN
Nicola’s anger at deal with Russia ‘propaganda machine’ SNP chiefs fear ex-leader’s new job will damage party Calls in Holyrood for Alex to ‘re-examine’ his decision
NICOLA Sturgeon yesterday delivered a humiliating public slapdown to Alex Salmond by condemning his decision to launch a chat show on a Russian state-funded TV channel.
The First Minister revealed her predecessor had not consulted her over joining broadcaster RT – which has been described as a ‘state-run propaganda machine’.
In the first public sign of tension between them since she became First Minister three years ago, Miss Sturgeon said she would have advised him to ‘seek another channel’ if she had known prior to the announcement.
Several other senior figures in the SNP also condemned their former leader, while a Holyrood motion was published urging him to ‘re-examine’ his decision, which gave ‘undue legitimacy’ to the broadcaster.
The fact that Mr Salmond did not even consult Miss Sturgeon or her advisers before signing the deal suggests a major breakdown in relations.
But Mr Salmond insisted RT would allow him ‘freedom of speech’ and would not make editorial decisions about the weekly show. The first episode of The Alex Salmond Show is due to be screened on Thursday.
Insiders in the SNP fear the party’s reputation will be damaged by one of its highest-profile individuals linking up with a broadcaster funded by Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Asked about the announcement in Jersey yesterday, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘I am absolutely sure Alex’s new chat show will make for interesting watchCole-Hamilton, ing. His choice of channel to air it on would not have been my choice.
‘Had I been asked, which I wasn’t, I would have advised him to seek another channel to air the show on. But of course Alex is not currently an elected politician and he is free to make whatever decisions he wishes to make.
‘The final point I’d make on this is that the Scottish Government, the SNP and indeed Alex Salmond have been frequent critics of the Russian government across a range of different areas and we will continue to be so where it is appropriate and we will do so without fear or favour.’
Her comments suggest simmering anger at Mr Salmond’s growing media career, which has provided embarrassment for Miss Sturgeon in the past.
RT hit back at the First Minister, with a spokesman saying: ‘We are delighted to welcome the Alex Salmond Show to RT and hope that – contrary to appearances – the current First Minister isn’t too upset that she wasn’t asked.’
The show is being produced by Slainte Media, a newly formed firm set up by Mr Salmond and Tasmina AhmedSheikh, who both lost their jobs as MPs in June.
Yesterday, it was also revealed RT is to register as a ‘foreign agent’ in the US after an intelligence report accused it of being an arm of Russia’s ‘state-run propaganda machine’. A Holyrood motion, lodged by Lib Dem MSP Alex states that intelligence services around the world regard RT as ‘an agent of the Russian state’ and states that ‘a principle role of RT is to give a favourable impression of Russia’.
It says that First Ministers past and present should ‘retain an informal ambassadorial status for Scotland’ and urges Mr Salmond to ‘reexamine’ his decision, concluding that ‘signing a contractual relationship of this type with RT gives the organisation undue legitimacy’.
Nationalist MP Martin Docherty, a former colleague of Mr Salmond, posted a link on social media to an article he wrote last year branding RT and Russia’s Sputnik news agency as ‘tools of misinformation’ and vowing to never to appear on the channel.
Chris McEleny, who ran in last year’s contest to become deputy leader of the SNP and is leader of the party’s council group in Inverclyde, also attacked Mr Salmond’s decision on social media.
He said: ‘I absolutely accept he will have complete editorial control over his show but the fact it is on RT gives credibility to RT. Let’s be clear, RT exists to promote Russian propaganda, a country with a disgraceful human rights record, in essence a faux democracy that’s actively trying to destabilise democratic processes in Western states.’
An SNP spokesman distanced the party from Mr Salmond’s decision, pointing out he ‘is not currently an elected politician’ and as such is free to ‘take on broadcasting and other opportunities of his own choosing’.
Asked if SNP politicians would be allowed to appear on the show, he said: ‘We consider every interview request on its merits if and when it comes in.’
BBC Radio Four presenter Nick Robinson – who was accused of biased reporting by Mr Salmond in the 2014 referendum campaign – also condemned the decision.
He said: ‘The question is not whether Alex Salmond is making Kremlin propaganda. It is whether he’s lending his credibility and that of his guests to Kremlin propaganda.’
Scottish Tory deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘It beggars belief that a man who led Scotland for seven years should be reduced to a puppet of Russia’s deeply damaging propaganda unit.’
Mr Salmond responded to some of the criticism on an RT news show, saying he had condemned Russian intervention in Syria on the channel in the past and his views were not altered.
He said: ‘I’ve found that this channel allows me to express my views without fear or favour. Therefore, a programme produced by Slainte Productions and broadcast on RT should be able to do that as well. Secondly, there is an underlying question about freedom of speech. Are all these other media outlets so worried that they won’t allow things to be shown on RT?’
He also told the BBC it would be ‘a great idea if people watched the show’, adding: ‘If it turns out to be Kremlin propaganda then people can slate me, but why don’t they watch the show first?’
‘Exists to promote Russian propaganda’ ‘Would not have been my choice’