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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| The SNP described the comments as "totally unacceptable". | The SNP described the comments as "totally unacceptable". |
| In an interview for the New Statesman, Alistair Darling was also quoted as using the controversial phrase "blood-and-soil" about Scottish nationalism. | In an interview for the New Statesman, Alistair Darling was also quoted as using the controversial phrase "blood-and-soil" about Scottish nationalism. |
| Better Together said the phrase had been used by the interviewer and the magazine had agreed to correct it. | Better Together said the phrase had been used by the interviewer and the magazine had agreed to correct it. |
| SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson demanded Mr Darling withdraw his remarks about Mr Salmond but a Better Together spokesman said the reaction was "overblown". | SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson demanded Mr Darling withdraw his remarks about Mr Salmond but a Better Together spokesman 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 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." |
| Mr Robertson said Mr Darling's comments were a "new low" for the independence debate. | Mr Robertson said Mr Darling's comments were a "new low" for the independence debate. |
| 'Blood-and-soil' | 'Blood-and-soil' |
| Later in the interview Mr Darling was quoted as saying the SNP offered "blood-and-soil nationalism", but Better Together said Mr Darling had not used the expression and it had been raised by the interviewer. | Later in the interview Mr Darling was quoted as saying the SNP offered "blood-and-soil nationalism", but Better Together said Mr Darling had not used the expression and it had been raised by the interviewer. |
| The correction by the New Statesman, understood to have been blamed on a transcription error, is set to appear online but the magazine has already gone to print. | |
| 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. |
| 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 had stressed that UKIP received significantly less backing north of the border, despite gaining an MEP. | After the UKIP victory in the European elections, Mr Salmond had stressed that UKIP received significantly less backing north of the border, despite gaining an MEP. |
| "It's difficult it is to stop a party getting foothold. We've been doing an analysis of BBC broadcasting in Scotland over this month, four-times as many broadcasts about UKIP than the SNP," he said. | "It's difficult it is to stop a party getting foothold. We've been doing an analysis of BBC broadcasting in Scotland over this month, four-times as many broadcasts about UKIP than the SNP," he said. |
| He told the BBC's election night programme: "Star Trek the Original series used to have a phrase, 'beam me up Scotty', UKIP is a party that gets beamed into Scotland courtesy of the BBC." | He told the BBC's election night programme: "Star Trek the Original series used to have a phrase, 'beam me up Scotty', UKIP is a party that gets beamed into Scotland courtesy of the BBC." |