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Scottish independence: 'David Cameron's fingers are all over scaremongering campaign', Salmond claims

Kenny MacAskill criticised pro-union politicians for negative arguments

Tuesday 16 September 2014 09:54 BST

Alex has an instinct for knowing what people want him to be (EPA)

David Cameron’s “fingerprints are all over a scaremongering campaign” against Scottish independence, Alex Salmond has claimed.

Repeating his allegation that the Treasury leaked information over Royal Bank of Scotland plans to move headquarters to England after a “yes” vote, the First Minister hit out during a meeting with Scottish business leaders at Edinburgh Airport on Monday.

“When you try to pressurise people, pressurise companies, as the Prime Minister has undoubtedly been doing and indeed the Treasury, then that's a different circumstance,” he said.

"I think people in Scotland will know the Prime Minister's fingerprints are all over the scaremongering campaign and the Treasury's fingerprints are all over the bank campaign."

Downing Street could not be reached for a comment.

Business leaders and financial chiefs have been among those raising concerns about secession, threatening to pull operations out of Scotland as a report claimed £17 billion had been drained from the UK economy because of growing uncertainty.

A Scottish MP described the “yes” campaign as “one of hope over fear” as polls continued to show strong support for independence with just days left until the referendum.

Scotland's Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill (Alan Simpson/Getty Images)

Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish National Party’s Justice Secretary, said: "I think our campaign is one of hope over fear.

"This is our chance to make sure that we end a situation where we have a Tory Government that we never voted for. And it has happened not once but many times.”

Speaking to BBC News, he criticised David Cameron and Ed Miliband for saying they “love [Scotland] and in the next sentence that pestilence and plague will befall our land if we have the audacity to vote for independence."

Both leaders are in Scotland in a last-minute scramble to maintain the union amid continued criticisms from nationalists that the “Better Together campaign” has been based on negativity and scaremongering about the Scottish economy.

“If Scotland votes yes, the UK will split, and we will go our separate ways forever.”

The UK Government has offered new powers and autonomy for Scotland in a so-called “devo-max” arrangement but Mr MacAskill said the people of Scotland "won't be fooled again" by the promises.

He said: "We had the Queen's speech, when he laid out a programme for government just a few months back and he didn't lay out any extra powers.

Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

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1/7Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The 2015 General Election

If it votes for independence, Scotland won’t leave the union until 2016 meaning, under current arrangements, that if Scots decide to go it alone they will still vote in the 2015 general election. The possibility of Scotland swinging the vote in favour of the government with which it will negotiate their independence has led some to call for the elections to be delayed. Downing Street has said, however, that it has no plans to postpone the election despite claims a yes vote could lead to a constitutional crisis.

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Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The NHS

Alex Salmond has said a Yes vote in the referendum is the only way to save Scotland’s National Health Service. This claim was undermined, however, yesterday when research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies determined that Scotland’s devolved government spent less in real terms on its health service than England. Despite this, the splitting up of the NHS would be more straightforward than other institutions, as it is already managed from Holyrood.

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Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The BBC

The Licence fee in Scotland currently raises around £230m which the Yes campaign says it would use, along with the assets of BBC Scotland, to create a Scottish Broadcasting Service or SBS. It says the SBS would continue to provide original content to the BBC and Scotland would receive access to all current programming, including BBC1, BBC2 and national radio stations. The government has said since February that an independent Scotland would lose any automatic rights to BBC programming.

Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The Pound

The No Campaign is hoping that doubts over whether or not Scotland will be able to keep the pound will sway the referendum in its favour. George Osborne has said that the UK will not let Scotland keep the pound if it votes to leave the union and the leader of the Better Together coalition, former Chancellor Alistair Darling, has called the Yes campaign’s suggestion that it keep the currency “mad”. Alex Salmond has claimed repeatedly that Scotland will be able to retain the pound and has said speculation to the contrary is little more than fear mongering.

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Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The Army

Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war and the stationing of the Trident Nuclear fleet north of the border are unpopular in Scotland. The Scottish Nationalists have railed against the war saying they would scrap Trident and create a new Scottish defence force based on existing Scottish regiments.

Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

The Royal Family

Scotland would keep the Queen as a head of state under current plans proposed by the Yes campaign, as Elizabeth Queen of Scots. It would also remain part of the Commonwealth. However a second referendum could be held to determine what form a new Scottish state would take.

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Scottish independence: What will happen to key British institutions?

Sport

Scotland’s Rugby and Football teams would remain as they are if Scotland voted to leave the UK but the British and Irish Lions could be forced into a name change. What would happen to the British Olympic Association also remains up for debate. Scotland’s most successful Olympian Sir Chris Hoy has said he is wary of independence because of the number of Scottish athletes living and training in England and what their status would be.

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“We also know from history, we remember back in 1979, a former Tory premier said vote No and we'll make sure you'll get a better scheme and all we got was Margaret Thatcher.”

The polls will open in Scotland at 7am on Thursday, with the results expected to start coming in early on Friday.

Additional reporting by PA

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