The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Declaration of Arbroath due display
The Declaration of Arbroath is to go on public display for the first time in 17 years, it has been revealed. Members of the public will be able to get a closer look at the document in the National Museum of Scotland’s (NMS) special exhibitions gallery in June 2023.
The Declaration was due to go on display in 2020 to mark its 700th anniversary but lockdown forced the exhibition to be postponed.
The National Records of Scotland (NRS), the document’s keepers, and the museum then tried to reschedule to April 2021.
But they were forced to scrap plans because of worsening case rates, and new restrictions.
According to correspondence between the museum and NRS the “fragility” of the artefact means it could be the last time it is displayed for “many years”.
But the Scottish Tories said “eyebrows will be raised” by the timing of the exhibition as it could coincide with the campaign for Indyref2.
Though no date has been set for a new plebiscite on the constitution, Nicola Sturgeon has made clear she wants to have a vote before the end of next year.
In correspondence released under freedom of information legislation, bosses had earlier expressed concerns the exhibition would clash with the election campaign.
A note of a meeting between the two organisations on September 24 2020, said: “Another risk is that however careful NMS and NRS are to focus on the historical significance of the document, a display in the run up to the election could create a focus for politicians to use the Declaration as a symbol for certain political views.”
There were particular fears the display could even coincide with the first day of the campaign.
A spokesperson for NMS said: “While we are aware that a potential independence referendum for next year has been the subject of discussion since last week’s local election results, no specific timings have been published and there is no reason to reconsider our approach.”