SCOTTISH Secretary Des Browne today launches an astonishing personal attack on Alex Salmond, accusing him of living in a "parallel universe" and of abusing his position to create rifts with Westminster rather than governing the country.
In a stinging assault against the SNP Government, Browne declares the First Minister is running a "ridiculous" and "shoddy" administration which, he claims, is attempting to hoodwink Scots in order to "foster grievance" against the UK.
And Browne accuses Salmond of deliberately trying to smear London as a bully in order to "shift attention" from the SNP's local income tax plans so he can "blame its likely failure not on those who designed it but on those the SNP demand should administer it".
In an article for Scotland on Sunday, Browne declares: "The propaganda exercise to support the myth the SNP is the only level of government with any interest in Scotland is both demonstrably ridiculous and, from the evidence of this week, the central focus of their activity."
Browne mocks Salmond's visit to America last week where, he notes, the First Minister has been "comparing himself to Thomas Jefferson".
"In the parallel universe that the SNP inhabit, everything the UK Government does is portrayed as either an act of betrayal or interference in Scotland," he adds. "It's time they got on with governing rather than fostering grievance."
His outburst follows a week in which SNP and Labour ministers clashed over the SNP's controversial bid to bring in a new local income tax.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper wrote to Finance Secretary John Swinney warning him about a £750m black hole she had identified in the local income tax plans.
She asked Swinney to provide the Treasury with answers on how the gap would be met, how much the tax would cost to collect, and for evidence on why the new tax would be better.
But the request brought an angry response from the SNP, with Swinney's spokesman accusing the Treasury of "trying to lay down the law to the Scottish Government and Scotland – as if we were just another Whitehall department".
Swinney also complained the Treasury was "not acting in an even-handed fashion towards Scotland".
The SNP's plans rely on Westminster handing over £400m a year it currently pays to help poorer Scottish families cope with council tax bills. However, UK ministers say there is no reason for them to do so.
Browne issues a cutting riposte to Swinney today, questioning his competence and claiming he has demonstrated "the SNP's inability to either understand devolution or take responsibility for ill-conceived policies".
Reflecting on the row, Browne adds: "Only in this parallel universe could a letter from a UK Government Treasury minister, in response to correspondence asking for views on a local national income tax, be described as interference… A statement of fact that there is a huge hole in the SNP's shoddy calculations in the document which they issued to the Treasury for comment is derided as bullying.
"All of the above is calculated to shift attention from an ill-thought-through policy that will make hardworking families across Scotland worse off, and Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK. And to blame its likely failure not on those who designed it, but on those the SNP demand should administer it."
He also rounded on the Nationalists for demanding new powers over the seas around Scotland. Browne said: "Before a UK marine bill is published, the SNP minister responsible has contrived a demand for a power grab when he is being pressed by responsible groups to work together with the UK government to safeguard the marine environment.
"It is, I suspect, much more about the blatant tactics of a separatist minority who want to promote discord and foster disagreement to attempt to kick start support for wrenching Scotland out of the UK. When this, the only issue which binds the SNP, is losing support in any authoritative measure, then manufacturing rows is where Alex Salmond and his cohorts go to political comfort eat."
He continued: "The third, and most fundamental, problem for Alex Salmond is that his emphasis on grievance rather than government is not only a disservice to the interests of people of Scotland, it is also beginning to wear thin amongst Scots."
Aides to Browne said his attack against the SNP signalled a major change in Labour's response to the Nationalist government, as the party seeks to puncture Salmond's prolonged honeymoon in Edinburgh.
Last night, in a further ramping up of the row, UK Government sources declared they will dismiss a request by Swinney to have the funding dispute adjudicated by the Joint Ministerial Committee, a Whitehall forum where issues relating to Britain's devolved regions are discussed.
A Scotland Office source said: "John Swinney doesn't understand that the Joint Ministerial Committee do not make judgments on matters of fact. It is a fact that the council tax benefit is only paid if you receive council tax, just as it is a fact that the sun rises in the east."
Browne's full-frontal attack on the SNP's competence will infuriate Salmond and Swinney, who have sought to build up the SNP's credibility since winning the election a year ago.
They insist that the local income tax is fairer than the council tax. They also claim the £400m a year council tax rebate cash is "Scotland's money" and should therefore be handed over to them if council tax is scrapped.
The Nationalists have argued that when Labour was in government at Holyrood, the £400m was viewed as being Scottish cash.
The SNP add that the question of funding is not a matter for Westminster in "any shape or form". They say the UK Government should provide a "reassurance" that will not carry out a "cash-grab" if the Scottish Parliament were to bring in a local income tax.
The row was triggered earlier this year after Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell told Scotland on Sunday that there was no chance of the cash being handed over.
DES BROWNE'S ARTICLE IN FULLThe full article contains 1021 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
