Storm as Swinney sports SNP badge at Passchendaele service
REPRESENTING Scotland at a solemn ceremony to mark the centenary of the battle of Passchendaele, John Swinney controversially opted to sport an SNP lapel pin and not a poppy.
The British contingent at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, on Sunday evening was headed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Prime Minister and included Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon. They all wore poppies.
The Deputy First Minister’s decision not to caused controversy and by yesterday, when he attended a memorial at the Tyne Cot cemetery, he was wearing a poppy. Mr Swinney was paying tribute to the thousands who died in the battle, synonymous with the muddy hell of the Western Front.
Scotland suffered high casualties in the Passchendaele campaign, which rumbled on from July to November 1917, as all three Scots Western Front divisions were engaged.
Last night opponents rounded on Mr Swinney’s politicking, insisting this was ‘no place for party-political insignia’.
A Scottish Tory spokesman said: ‘All politicians should reflect that when attending national commemoration events on behalf of the nation, there should be no place for party political insignia. It’s a small but important distinction – the sacrifice of those who died was for their country and not for any political creed.’
The Education Secretary’s choice not to wear a poppy – an apolitical symbol honouring the service and sacrifice of British and Commonwealth soldiers in all conflicts – caused outrage on social media.
Twitter user Davie Price said: ‘No poppy, but a wee Nationalist badge. Pathetic.’
Malcolm Hirst tweeted to Mr Swinney describing his actions as a ‘mark of complete contempt’.
A Scottish Labour source said: ‘Remembering the Battle of Passchendaele isn’t the time or place to be parading your own political sympathies. While this was presumably a simple oversight, it underlines the culture within the SNP that their party and Scotland are somehow interchangeable.’
A Scottish Government spokesman evaded the question of Mr Swinney’s missing poppy and said: ‘The bravery and sacrifice of the men who fought and died in that terrible battle is humbling and has been the sole focus not only of the Deputy First Minister but all those who gathered in Flanders, who have taken part in events at home or have taken a moment out of their day to commemorate the fallen.’