FORMER First Minister Jack McConnell has condemned Alex Salmond for his "disgraceful" decision to abandon all-out war on sectarianism, warning he risks being remembered as a "political coward".
McConnell, who made anti-sectarianism a top priority and planned regular meetings between church leaders, says Salmond has let Scotland down by taking a low-key approach and claims the "cancer" of religious bigotry is already returning.
The unwrit
ten convention is that former First Ministers do not directly criticise their successors, but McConnell uses an interview in this weekend's Scottish Catholic Observer newspaper to condemn Salmond in the strongest terms.
He says: "Sectarianism is like a cancer – if you don't keep on the attack it starts to grow back. That is what has happened: the treatment has been stopped and the cancer is coming back."
McConnell says he assumed that his own strategy – which included regular summits between leaders of the Catholic and Protestant communities – would continue. "His (Salmond's] reluctance to do so and his refusal to provide an adequate explanation is disgraceful and I think he has let Scotland down," McConnell adds.
Salmond, he says, had "let his foot off the pedal", allowing those who "peddle bigotry and hate on both sides to feel they can get away with it". He said he had never considered Salmond to be "a political coward, but if he doesn't do something about this (sectarianism] that's what history will remember him as".
McConnell's anti-sectarian campaign dates back to 2002 when he first declared his intention, as First Minister, to rid the country of "Scotland's shame". It followed a parliamentary drive which recommended a crackdown on sectarianism, following numerous shocking incidents, including the fatal stabbing of a young Celtic fan in Glasgow.
A new offence of religiously motivated crime has been introduced, while new restrictions have been placed on marches and parades.
The response to sectarianism has flared up again over the summer after Celtic coach Neil Lennon was beaten unconscious in Glasgow by an attacker who abused him as a "Fenian bastard".
McConnell adds: "He (Salmond] should reconvene the anti-sectarianism summit by the end of the year. He should be willing to work with all parties on this and he should make very clear that the eradication of sectarianism is a prerequisite of a modern Scotland in the 21st century."
However, the SNP Government insisted the time for yet more summits on the matter had passed. A source close to the First Minister said: "These remarks are ridiculous and quite unbecoming of a former First Minister. Alex Salmond's commitment to and leadership in combating sectarianism is second to none.
"There is general recognition that endless summits are not the answer. The electorate judged Jack McConnell's administration last year and found it badly wanting. Jack should get used to it – he should not be sowing division on an issue which can and must unite politicians right across Scotland. He is just making himself look foolish."
Salmond's office also pointed out last night that Salmond – unlike McConnell – had specifically sought to sweep away the Act of Settlement, the law which bars a Catholic from marrying an heir to the throne.
Labour critics of Salmond's strategy privately allege that the SNP leader dumped the plans following pressure from the Catholic Church. The Church's bishops are known to have become irritated that the focus on sectarianism had encompassed questions over the future of Catholic schools.
The Catholic Church last night said it was "very supportive of Jack McConnell's desire to put sectarianism at the top of the agenda", but was not "particularly thirled" to a particular form of anti-sectarian action.
A spokesman added that it had been "unfortunate" that the summits had brought up the question of Catholic education once again.
