Censorship row over Queen’s Jubilee book for schoolchildren
THE Queen’s Jubilee book for children was ‘censored’ after the Scottish Government objected to the inclusion of her views on independence.
Government staff made 52 complaints and corrections related to Queen Elizabeth – A Platinum Jubilee Celebration.
The £12million project was designed to mark the Jubilee by giving a book celebrating the Queen’s reign to UK primary school pupils.
But Scottish civil servants claimed the Queen’s comment – that she hoped Scots would ‘think very carefully about the future’ – ahead of the 2014 vote on breaking up Britain was ‘likely to stoke controversy’.
They successfully lobbied for the deletion of passages celebrating the 1966 World Cup win by England’s men’s team.
And they called for mentions of Brexit to be removed, as well as a reference to the Queen Mother’s death being a ‘tragedy’.
The SNP still refused to allow the book to be sent to Scottish schools unless they specifically requested it, sparking outrage about its ‘petty’ intervention.
Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘It’s not up to the SNP Government to try to censor a quote from Her Majesty in a book about her reign.
‘The Queen was entitled, at the time, to express her concerns about the possible break-up of the UK.
‘The request for mention of England’s 1966 World Cup win to be removed appears ridiculous and petty.
‘While Brexit has its supporters and detractors, it merits inclusion in any book chronicling events of the last 70 years in the UK.’
The move was revealed in newly-published exchanges between the UK and Scottish governments over the book.
On January 10, having seen a draft, the Scottish Government found fault with 38 sections. An email to the UK Government said a mention of England’s 1966 World Cup win was ‘not relevant in the nonEngland parts of the UK’.
The draft contained a proposed timeline of notable events including the ‘2002 royal tragedy’ when the Queen Mother died aged 101.
But the Scottish Government said: ‘While it was a sad event, “tragedy” reads as a little tabloid when describing the death of a very old lady.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The book is a UK Government project and they are responsible for its content, development and distribution.
‘Scottish Government officials were given sight of drafts and provided feedback.’
‘Ridiculous and petty’