John Swinney is facing a growing backlash over his ‘beyond the pale’ bid to work with Sinn Fein on breaking up Britain.
Former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw, who was at his party’s conference when an IRA bomb went off at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, led the criticism of the SNP leader, saying his willingness to work with the party ‘turns my blood cold’ and shows that ‘no ally is too toxic’.
The First Minister also attempted to downplay Sinn Fein’s historic links to IRA terrorism yesterday, saying that ‘these issues have been well aired over many years’.
It follows his controversial comments declaring that he would ‘enjoy’ cooperating with the party, as well as Plaid Cymru in Wales, to help secure independence.
Mr Carlaw, who was staying close to the Grand Hotel when the bomb went off in October 1984, said: ‘I was appalled to hear John Swinney reiterate his desire to work with Sinn Fein in their shared goal of breaking up the UK.
‘It’s clear that no organisation or party is beyond the pale when it comes to pushing his independence obsession.
'I was at the Conservative Party conference in Brighton when the IRA tried to assassinate the British government at the height of the Troubles.
‘The thought of John Swinney working in tandem with the political wing of that terrorist organisation turns my blood cold. Yes, time has passed and Northern Ireland has changed, but it’s widely known that senior figures in Sinn Fein have blood on their hands.
An IRA bomb went off at the Grand Hotel in Brighton back in October 1984
Jackson Carlaw was at his party’s conference when an IRA bomb went off at the Grand Hotel
‘Sadly, the SNP have a blind spot when it comes to independence and no ally is too toxic in pursuing their obsession. John Swinney should be ashamed of himself.’
In 2024, Mr Carlaw led a Holyrood debate marking the 40th anniversary of the Brighton IRA bomb, when he urged all MSPs to ‘stand in solidarity against this senseless act of violence’.
During an event near Tranent in East Lothian on Thursday, Mr Swinney doubled down on his willingness to work with Sinn Fein.
Asked by the Mail if he has any concerns about Sinn Fein’s historic links to terrorism, he said: ‘These issues have all been well aired over many years and addressed in the governance arrangements of the north of Ireland, which are not for me to speculate about.’
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said Mr Swinney’s willingness to work with Sinn Fein is a ‘wake-up call’ about the threat of independence. He told the BBC: ‘He’ll work with anyone including Sinn Féin to achieve the break-up of the United Kingdom.’
Reform UK councillor Thomas Kerr accused Mr Swinney of seeking a cooperation agreement with a ‘terrorist-sympathising’ party.
At an Ipsos event on Thursday Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, said Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth looks ‘inevitably’ like becoming the next First Minister of Wales, and said: ‘Which will mean nationalist First Ministers in all three devolved administrations, which was not what devolution was meant to be about.’
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘The only person who’s really delighted by this development is Vladimir Putin, who wants to see destabilisation in the West and the breakup of successful political, social and cultural unions.
Scotland's First Minister John Swinney seems pleased with his record
Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill is not due to face an election until next year
‘For all the problems that Scotland faces, the answer to none of them is yet more nationalism and discussions of division at this difficult time.
‘With a crisis on many fronts in our world, we need to be pulling together with our nearest neighbours, both in the United Kingdom, but with our friends on the continent as well.’
He said Sinn Fein are ‘democratically valid in the island of Ireland’, but added: ‘Obviously they do have a dark association with the Irish republican movement and the paramilitary organisations.
‘But I recognise that they are officially constituted, they’ve been democratically elected, and they were right to take their seats.’
‘Their politics is not my politics. Their politics is one of division and wants to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom.
‘Ultimately, any sort of collaboration with the SNP and Plaid Cymru speaks to a politics that I think is the last kind of last thing we need in the face of global threats. I’s a time for unity and forging alliances rather than breaking apart.’
Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill is already First Minister of Northern Ireland and is not due to face an election until next year. Her party is seeking a referendum on a united Ireland by 2030.
She has previously attended talks at Bute House with Mr Swinney’s predecessors as First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.