A Fife SNP councillor has jumped to the defence of Alex Salmond amid claims he went “crazy” during a visit to Dunfermline.
Rosyth councillor Douglas Chapman said Labour MP Thomas Docherty’s claim (link) that the First Minister lost his temper during Wednesday’s incident was “absolutely incorrect.”
Mr Chapman was at the Carnegie Primary School opening day and witnessed the altercation between the MP and Mr Salmond over comments about gay marriage by Dunfermline SNP MSP Bill Walker.
Mr Chapman said: “I was in the room along with guests and senior council officers and nothing untoward happened, other than Mr Docherty’s approach was totally inappropriate given that the focus of the visit was making children feel really proud of their new school.
“In fact, most people in the room were unaware of any supposed incident and Mr Docherty and his press office are guilty of pure fiction. If anything, it was Mr Docherty’s inappropriate approach to Mr Salmond that was aggressive and the First Minister’s response was a model of restraint.”
The argument stemmed from Mr Walker’s support of a parliamentary motion by MSP John Mason, which said no person or organisation should be forced to approve of gay marriage.
He also allegedly likened gay rights supporters’ tactics to those of Nazi Germany, but subsequently withdrew the remark.
Mr Docherty had urged the First Minister to condemn the remarks at the school event.