Alex Salmond’s comments about outgoing BBC political editor Nick Robinson in his Courier column have sparked a furious online reaction.
Writing in The Courier, the former First Minister dubbed Mr Robinson “auld Nick” and said he should be “embarrassed and ashamed” of his reporting during the independence referendum.
Mr Salmond’scomments have been picked up by media outlets around the country and, unsurprisingly, have led to thousands of tweets about Mr Salmond and the BBC.
Among those defending Mr Salmond was Hue and Cry singer Pat Kane, a long-time advocate of independence.
He posted on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/thoughtland/status/635738002837237760
Another supporter was Twitter user “Connie”, who said:
Salmond is right about Nick Robinson and the Scottish referendum http://t.co/2gKjg6ZKyR via @MidWalesMike
— Connie (@liberty54) August 24, 2015
Twitter user Moe2Mac added:
@jakimccarthy Alex Salmond summed up BBC well.British Biased Corp indeed.We need our own Scottish Broadcasting Co
— moemac (@moe2mac) August 24, 2015
However, many people felt Mr Salmond had crossed a line.
Martyn Russell pointed out that the National Union of Journalists had condemned the treatment of journalists during the referendum.
@thecourieruk Perhaps Mr Salmond could explain why the NUJ openly criticised referendum for intimidation and bullying of journalists
— Martyn Russell (@MartynR15) August 24, 2015
Guardian journalist Michael White accused Mr Salmond of hypocrisy:
https://twitter.com/MichaelWhite/status/635726773414678528
Dorothy Brown posted:
https://twitter.com/Brackens1/status/635707639608029186
Former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said Mr Salmond’s comments would not make happy reading for his successor as First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
https://twitter.com/JohannLamont/status/635585135405047808