SNP in furore over Cenotaph service
Bid to shorten ceremony for Queen scuppered
PLANS to cut the time the Queen and veterans spend standing outside on Remembrance Sunday were abandoned last night after complaints from Nationalist MPs.
Buckingham Palace wanted to shorten the wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in London next month to limit the amount of time those involved spent standing in the cold.
The plans, which would have seen Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson, DUP leader Nigel Dodds and Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron laying their wreaths together rather than individually, sparked an extraordinary row.
David Cameron would have laid a tribute on his own.
It is understood this provoked unhappiness within the SNP in Westminster, and f ormer party l eader Alex Salmond publicly warned the Government not to ‘ tamper’ with the format.
Yesterday the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which was working on the format for the ceremony with the Royal Household, was forced to abandon the planned changes.
It issued a statement making clear that political leaders would lay their wreaths indi- vidually, as has been the case previously.
The row led to criticism that the Nationalists were putting narrow political i nterests ahead of those of the Monarch.
One Tory MP told the Mail: ‘The most important thing is not the ego of opposition leaders, it’s the fact that we have a Queen who is in her 90th year who should not be required to stand for excessively long periods.’
Ukip deputy c hai r man Suzanne Evans criticised the decision on Twitter, writing ‘For goodness’ sake: the Queen is nearly 90. Remembrance isn’t about politicians. Lay your wreaths and stop moaning.’
An e mail to t he f o ur opposition party leaders from the Government’s head of ceremonials said the decision had been made to ‘try to speed up the event’.
The leaders were also told to attend a rehearsal together to practise laying wreaths at the same time.
Mr Salmond was quoted telling The Times: ‘The Remembrance Day service has been supported on an all-party basis since just after the First World War. I would advise the Government and everyone else connected it is not in anyone’s interest to tamper with it.’
Buckingham Palace conf i rmed the i dea yesterday morning, when a spokesman said ‘ some members of the Royal Family and political figures will lay their wreaths simultaneously’ to allow the parade to begin earlier.
But Downing Street suggested discussions between the Royal household and DCMS were still ‘ongoing’.
Members of the Royal Family, are expected to lay wreaths together, however, allowing for the ceremony to be cut short by several minutes.
Last night the SNP declined to comment on the record but a party source attempted to distance the party from Mr Salmond’s comments.
The source said they had been ‘surprised’ to read about Mr Salmond’s intervention and suggested he was ‘speaking in a personal capacity’.
Labour made clear that Mr Corbyn had not made any representations on the changes.
A Palace spokesman said: the Royal Household was ‘entirely content’ with arrangements for this year’s service. The Queen attends the service with Prince Philip.