Question Time's 'passionate highlander' is the William Wallace of the Better Together campaign

"I'm British forever! We will never, ever change!"

Christopher Hooton
Friday 11 July 2014 09:52 BST
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Audience member gave a stirring pro-union speech on BBC debate
Audience member gave a stirring pro-union speech on BBC debate

BBC Question Time got perhaps its most spirited question in its 35 year history last night, when self-professed "passionate highlander" Nigel defended the unity of England and Scotland.

It wasn't so much a question as a war cry, with the Inverness man raising his arm in the air as he declared he would give his life for the cause, evoking Mel Gibson's speech in Braveheart (in intonation alone, William Wallace certainly wouldn't have been pro-union).

"I was born in Inverness, I’m a passionate Highlander, and I love Scotland," Nigel said. "I will take a stand to keep the United Kingdom together. I will give my life for my country as my grandfather did in the First World War."

Host David Dimbleby didn't even attempt to cut his 30-second dispatch short, which all got a bit military and religious toward the end, closing with him shouting: "in the name of Jesus!"

The speech was met with a smattering of applause, with Dimbleby then giving Ricky Ross the unenviable task of responding to it.

The Inverness edition of the BBC debate was dominated by talk of the Scottish independence referendum, which will take place on 18 September.

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