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Alistair Darling makes Alex Salmond Kim Jong-il jibe Alistair Darling makes Alex Salmond Kim Jong-il jibe
(35 minutes later)
A political row has broken out after the leader of the pro-union Better Together campaign compared Alex Salmond to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.A political row has broken out after the leader of the pro-union Better Together campaign compared Alex Salmond to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
In an interview for the New Statesman magazine, Alistair Darling also used the controversial phrase "blood-and-soil" about Scottish nationalism.In an interview for the New Statesman magazine, Alistair Darling also used the controversial phrase "blood-and-soil" about Scottish nationalism.
The SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson described the language as "totally unacceptable".The SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson described the language as "totally unacceptable".
He said it was a "new low" in the referendum debate.He said it was a "new low" in the referendum debate.
Mr Robertson demanded Mr Darling withdraw the remarks but a spokesman for the Better Together campaign said the reaction was "overblown".Mr Robertson demanded Mr Darling withdraw the remarks but a spokesman for the Better Together campaign said the reaction was "overblown".
The spokesman said the Kim Jong-il comments were poking fun at the first minister's remarks blaming the rise of UKIP in Scotland on the the BBC's coverage before the European elections.The spokesman said the Kim Jong-il comments were poking fun at the first minister's remarks blaming the rise of UKIP in Scotland on the the BBC's coverage before the European elections.
In an interview with the New Statesman editor Jason Cowley, the former Labour chancellor of the exchequer was quoted as saying: "He (Alex Salmond) said on the BBC that people voted UKIP in Scotland because English TV was being beamed into Scotland.In an interview with the New Statesman editor Jason Cowley, the former Labour chancellor of the exchequer was quoted as saying: "He (Alex Salmond) said on the BBC that people voted UKIP in Scotland because English TV was being beamed into Scotland.
"This was a North Korean response. This is something that Kim Jong-il would say. And this is the same BBC for which we all pay our licence fee, and we all enjoy the national output as well as the Scottish output.""This was a North Korean response. This is something that Kim Jong-il would say. And this is the same BBC for which we all pay our licence fee, and we all enjoy the national output as well as the Scottish output."
'Blood-and-soil'
Later in the interview Mr Darling is quoted as saying: "The SNP does not offer a civic nationalism . . . at heart it is blood-and-soil nationalism."Later in the interview Mr Darling is quoted as saying: "The SNP does not offer a civic nationalism . . . at heart it is blood-and-soil nationalism."
The expression "blood-and-soil" ('Blut und Boden') is German in origins and was used to espouse racialism and national romanticism in the late 19th Century. It was later a term associated with the Nazis.The expression "blood-and-soil" ('Blut und Boden') is German in origins and was used to espouse racialism and national romanticism in the late 19th Century. It was later a term associated with the Nazis.
Mr Robertson said: "These comments are just not acceptable. I am calling on Alistair Darling to withdraw them. Comparisons with Nazi Germany are totally unacceptable.
"His language has hit a new low for this debate."
On Mr Darling's language, the Better Together spokesman said: "The nationalists have regularly dismissed people who don't agree with them as quislings, anti-Scottish and a parcel o' rogues.On Mr Darling's language, the Better Together spokesman said: "The nationalists have regularly dismissed people who don't agree with them as quislings, anti-Scottish and a parcel o' rogues.
"We won't take any lessons on the use of language from people who have such a proud record of slurs and personal attacks.""We won't take any lessons on the use of language from people who have such a proud record of slurs and personal attacks."
After the UKIP victory in the European elections, Mr Salmond said the party had gained only about a third of the vote they got in the rest of the UK north of the border "despite the wall-to-wall media coverage of UKIP that has been beamed into Scotland".