Alex Salmond accuses Home Office of 'sabotage' after visas for two Chinese teachers are denied

Scotland’s First Minister is currently on a trip to China aimed at forging greater trade and investment ties

Alex Salmond and Liu Wei, Johnnie Walker Brand Ambassador for China, celebrate bringing the Ryder Cup to China (PA)

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has accused the the Home Office of sabotaging Scotland's links with China after visas for two Chinese teachers were denied.

The two are part of a group of five educators from Tian Jin municipality who were set to return to Scotland for a second year, as part of a partnership programme backed by Strathclyde University and the Scottish government.

The scheme is designed to let the group teach Scottish pupils Mandarin and educate them about Chinese culture.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland, the Mr Salmond said: "It is an absolutely extraordinary situation you couldn't make it up. It is deeply offensive to the Chinese and it is a decision that needs to be reversed as soon as possible.

"This amounts to sabotage of a programme that everyone thinks absolutely fantastic and doing great work in Scotland.”

Salmond has written to Home Secretary Theresa May to express his concerns, warning that the affair risks causing damage to Scotland's relationship with China.

"The importance of this is quite fundamental,” he told the BBC. “Our argument is to have a successful economic relationship with China you must have it underpinned by a successful cultural relationship, that is the view of the Chinese, that is the view of the Scottish government. If you undermine one you undermine the other."

Salmond is currently on a trip to China aimed at forging greater trade and investment ties between Scotland and the country.

The Home Office has said it will review the visa applications and added that the situation is being treated seriously.

Scotland is set to vote on independence from the UK in September next year. Key issues in the debate include whether an independent Scotland would be able to survive economically and the part it could play on the world stage.