Mail Online

Swinney rant against Tories ‘proof that Nationalists out of ideas’

By Georgia Edkins

DEPUTY First Minister John Swinney yesterday branded the UK Government corrupt and ‘rotten to the core’ as he sought to deflect from the SNP’s flagging independence campaign.

In an angry speech at the party’s annual conference, Mr Swinney said the UK Conservatives had ‘rewritten the definitions of cronyism and corruption’.

He added that the party had ‘lost all moral authority to hold the highest offices in the land’.

In a move that was swiftly denied by the UK Government, Mr Swinney also claimed that there was a Tory conspiracy to scrap devolution.

Despite allegations relating to missing independence funds and sexual impropriety being levelled against SNP politicians in recent years, Mr Swinney said: ‘What has been revealed about the behaviour of Tory MPs in recent weeks has been

‘At our strongest when we work together’

going on for years – the charge sheet is long and shameful.’

He added that, through the Internal Market Act, he believed the Tories had ‘given themselves unfettered power to decide the rules of the internal market and to completely ignore the devolution settlement if they want to.

‘Make no mistake – piece by piece, devolution is quietly being filleted, hollowed out from the inside by a Tory Party which has always opposed the idea of anything other than unfettered Westminster control.’

However, a UK Government spokesman said: ‘People in Scotland want to see the UK and Scottish Governments working together to protect lives and livelihoods. The pandemic, and our collective response, has shown that we are at our strongest when we work together.’

And Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Donald Cameron MSP added: ‘John Swinney seems completely oblivious to the catastrophic failings of the SNP and should put more effort into addressing that than trying to detract from his party’s mistakes.’

Snp Conference

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