Government reveals ‘secret’ Chinese deal

Trade: Alex Salmond backs controversial ‘£10bn’ agreement

Alex Salmond has hailed a trade deal potentially worth billions of pounds as the Scottish Government was forced to publish details of the “secret” agreement.

The former First Minister stepped in to back his successor after she came under pressure to explain why a memorandum of understanding, often publicly hailed by ministers, was not made public after it was signed last month.

Details only emerged after reports in the Chinese media surfaced online, which included quotes from transport tycoon and SNP donor Brian Souter and a managing director of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: “Why did the SNP keep this under wraps, and why was Parliament not informed?

“It appears as if the SNP simply tried to hide this away until after the election. It’s not good enough – Nicola Sturgeon must now set out exactly why this has only come to light now.”

But Mr Salmond, who is the Nationalists’ Foreign Affairs spokesman at Westminster, said it showed Scottish ministers have a better approach to relations with China than their UK counterparts.

He told The Courier: “I think the contrast between the two approaches is telling. For example in previous Scottish/ Sino deals we secured the Chinese investment in Grangemouth refinery and the special status for Scots whisky.”

The Scottish Government had told journalists over the weekend they would need to submit Freedom of Information requests if they wanted to see the content of the agreement, which was signed on March 21 at Bute House and the Chinese press said could be worth up to £10 billion.

Scottish Labour wealth creation spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said that policy “stinks” and officials hastily bundled out the content of the text last night.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The memorandum of understanding signed with SinoFortone relates to exploring investment opportunities in Scotland.

“No investment has been confirmed - any investment in any specific project would of course be confirmed publicly in the normal way.”

The memorandum of understanding was signed with Chinese investment group SinoFortone and China Railway No 3 Engineering Group, the largest construction company in the world.

It is understood it will allow Scottish and private investors to explore opportunities overseas, rather than resulting in Chinese interference in public infrastructure projects.

An SNP spokesperson said: “The First Minister is more than happy for this information to be in the public domain which shows that once again opposition parties are ignoring reality to make up their own version of events – a move which has backfired badly.

“As the memorandum of understanding, which the Scottish Government has published, clearly shows it is an agreement to have preliminary talks about potential opportunities for investment to support jobs and economic growth in Scotland. It does not relate to any specific projects or specific amount of investment, is not a binding legal agreement and does not commit any public funds.

“It is the job of government to secure appropriate investment for Scotland and to do what we can to boost the economy.”

Why did the SNP keep this under wraps and why was Parliament not informed? JOHN LAMONT, SCOTTISH CONSERVATIVES

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon came under pressure to explain why a memorandum of understanding with China was not made public.