- Rattled Salmond launches extraordinary rant at the BBC after it revealed Royal Bank of SCOTLAND will quit country after 'Yes' vote
- First Minister lashes out at broadcaster to deflect row over threat by banks
- RBS one of four major banks to turn its back on independent Scotland
- John Lewis, Waitrose and Asda say prices will rise if there is a Yes
- SNP leader was accused of lying about oil reserves by industry members
- He calls for official inquiry into Treasury source who leaked RBS story
- Insurance giant Standard Life said it would move south days after Yes vote
By Alan Roden, for Scottish Daily Mail
Alex Salmond today launched an
extraordinary rant at the BBC after the broadcaster reported how even the Royal
Bank of Scotland planned to relocate to England in the event of independence.
In a bizarre press conference he launched
a series of petulant attacks on the BBC, Westminster leaders and the Australian
prime minister.
And he revealed he has called for an
official inquiry into the Treasury's 'deliberate attempt to cause uncertainty
in the financial markets' by leaking details of RBS's fears about the breakup
of the Union.
First Minister Alex
Salmond launched into a rant aimed at the BBC after it first reported how Royal
Bank of Scotland would relocate its headquarters if voters back independence
Mr Salmond appeared to
question the BBC's impartiality as he accused the broadcaster of leaking market
sensitive information about RBS.
Mr Salmond clashed with BBC political
editor Nick Robinson over the coverage of the warning from banks that they
would move they headquarters south of the border
Alex Salmond clashes
with BBC's Nick Robinson over RBS (related)
In a hammer blow to separatists RBS,
Lloyds, Clydesdale and Edinburgh-based TSB will move to England if the 'Yes'
campaign win next Thursday's referendum - and more could follow.
Mr Salmond responded that his Better
Together rivals had launched a campaign of 'scaremongering' and 'intimidation'
and financial institutions relocating would have no impact on an independent
Scotland.
The First Minister presided over an
astonishing press conference for the world's press corps in which he was
tetchy, rattled and – according to several observers – 'losing the plot'.
Another observer suggested this was Mr
Salmond's 'Sheffield rally', a reference to Neil Kinnock's ill-fated cry of
'We're alright!' before he went on to lose the 1992 General Election.
At one point there was an ugly clash
between the SNP leader and BBC political editor Nick Robinson over the fate of
Scotland's banks if there is a Yes vote in next week's referendum.
Big move: The Royal Bank
of Scotland has revealed it would move its headquarters from Edinburgh,
pictured, to London if voters choose independence next week
ALEX SALMOND
ROUNDS ON BBC POLITICAL EDITOR NICK ROBINSON
Alex Salmond launched an astonishing
tirade against BBC political editor Nick Robinson.
He accused the highly-respected
broadcaster of 'heckling' him when he urged the SNP leader to answer his
question.
Mr Salmond attacked BBC coverage of
Lloyds' decision to move its headquarters to London, saying the bank has always
been based in the UK capital.
Brandishing a printout of an article, he
said 'you Nick or one of your colleagues' was responsible, saying the leak was
'as serious a matter as you possibly can get'.
He was again applauded by his supporters
as he said: 'I know the BBC in its impartial role as a public sector
broadcaster will give full cooperation to that investigation.'
Mr Salmond attempted to move onto the
next questioner but Mr Robinson repeatedly challenged him to answer questions
about the impact of the banks' warnings, prompting the First Minister to attack
him.
'This has been a lively campaign across
Scotland with heckling at many meetings across Scotland. This is the first
opportunity the BBC have had to heckle at a meeting,' he said, laughing to
himself, before repeating his demand for the Corporation cooperate with an
inquiry.
In another show of petulance, he attacked
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who recently said an independent
Scotland would not be in the best interests of the international community.
Mr Salmond said he had received letters
from Scot-Australians distancing himself from their premier's views, adding
that it could backfire for Mr Abbott at the ballot box.
And, chuckling to himself, he said he
would 'never' speak of the Conservative Party in the way David Cameron did on
Wednesday, when the Prime Minister said Scots should not vote Yes because they
don't like the 'effing Tories'.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader
Jackson Carlaw said: 'Considering the eyes of the world are now on Scotland,
this was an utterly embarrassing episode.
'The foreign media must have wondered
what was going on when the activist corps joined the press one.
'The First Minister looked like a man in
danger of losing the plot, and his conduct – and that of organisers –
transformed an opportunity to interrogate Alex Salmond into a laughable circus
in front of a global audience.'
Mr Salmond tried to deflect from the
seismic interventions by demanding an investigation into who briefed the BBC
about plans drawn up by RBS to move its registered headquarters to England.
In a mocking tone, the First Minister said
he would expect the full cooperation of the 'impartial' broadcaster – prompting
cries of 'BBC bias' from the crowd.
The Yes campaign had filled the
auditorium at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre with
pro-independence supporters, mingling with journalists, making it unclear who
was applauding as the attacks continued on the BBC and the 'metropolitan
media'.
But the series of announcements by big
banks came as the 'No' camp moved back in the lead in a new poll.
The latest Survation survey found 53 per
cent of Scots would say No in next week's referendum on independence, with the
Yes camp on 47 per cent. One in ten has yet to decide.
RBS, based in Scotland since its
formation in 1727 , said today 'it would be necessary to re-domicile the bank's
holding company' if next Thursday's referendum ends the 307-year Union.
Banks say they fear being downgraded if
they lost the stability of the Union and RBS and Lloyds may even ask for emergency
Westminster legislation to help speed through a move to England.
RBS employs 12,000 staff north of the
border and is still headquartered in Gogarburn, to the west of Scottish capital
Edinburgh, but this main base would be moved south.
Lloyds Banking Group, which includes
Halifax and Bank of Scotland and has 16,000 staff in
Scotland, yesterday announced it would move its headquarters to London, in
what has been called Alex Salmond's 'Black Wednesday'.
Scotland's third bank, Clydesdale, was
also reported to be preparing to leave and Edinburgh-based Standard Life said
it would partially move to England, putting up to 5,000 finance jobs at risk.
And Edinburgh-based Standard Life
unveiled drastic plans to partially move to England, putting up to 5,000 finance
jobs at risk.
John Lewis, Waitrose and Asda caused
further damage to the Yes campaign today after it said shoppers in Scotland are
likely to face higher prices if the country votes in favour of independence,
days after B&Q gave the same warning.
And yesterday BP and Shell also came out
against independence and Alex Salmond was accused of lying about oil reserves
on what was being dubbed the First Minister's Black Wednesday.
Edinburgh-based TSB, which recently
returned to the London stock market after two decades having split from Lloyds,
also said it will establish additional legal entities in England.
On the road: The most senior member of
the Labour party were in Glasgow today to hear Ed Miliband speak as the Better
Together campaign regained a slight lead in the polls
RBS' PLEDGE TO
LEAVE SCOTLAND IS SYMBOLIC AND ECONOMIC BLOW
Royal Bank of Scotland grew to become one
of the largest and most aggressive banks in the world - but its roots have
always been firmly in its home country.
But today RBS said it will register
themselves in England if Scotland votes for independence in next week's
referendum.
It would be a symbolic blow but also an
economic one because going south means Scotland would miss out on earnings from
trading and exports.
The bank was founded in Edinburgh in
1727, but by the end of the 20th century it was a major player in the City of
London too as the UK capital became the world's leading financial centre.
RBS sealed its place at the top table of
British banking in 2000 when it bought NatWest, which dates back to 1650 and
was considered one of the 'Big Four' retail banks in the UK.
Fred Goodwin, above right, became chief
executive of RBS the following year and pioneered a gung-ho expansion strategy
with resources poured into its investment banking division.
One of the biggest deals came when RBS
joined a consortium to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro for £49billion, which was later
revealed as a major overvaluation.
With the advent of the 2007 credit crunch
and subsequent global financial turmoil, RBS was exposed as being dangerously
indebted and unable to meet its obligations.
The Labour Government felt it had no
option but to step in, and in October 2008 it took a 57 per cent stake in the
bank in return for £37billion of new capital.
As the bank's losses spiralled and it
required even more bail-out money, the state share of the firm rose to 82 per
cent.
Much of the blame for RBS's troubles was
attributed to Goodwin, who was forced to resign and subsequently stripped of
the knighthood he had received in 2004.
The wider group is already registered in
England but the banking operation is in Scotland, where it has 189 of its 631 branches
and almost 2,000 staff.
It said: 'Any change in TSB's legal
structure would be taken in the interests of our customers and business.
'In the event of a Yes vote, it is clear
that independence will not happen straight away and there would be a period of
time between the referendum and implementation of independence, which we expect
would provide sufficient time for us to consider and implement any necessary
changes.’
Lloyds Banking Group, which includes
Halifax and Bank of Scotland and has 16,000 staff in Scotland, yesterday,
announced it would move its headquarters to London.
Banks say they fear the lost stability of
the Union and RBS and Lloyds may even ask for emergency Westminster legislation
to help speed through a move to England.
Scotland's third bank, Clydesdale, was
also reported to be preparing to leave and Edinburgh-based Standard Life said
it would partially move to England, putting up to 5,000 finance jobs at risk.
Others could follow with Tesco Bank,
Scottish Widows and Virgin Bank all headquartered or registered in Edinburgh,
and together support thousands of jobs in Scotland's capital.
And Edinburgh-based Standard Life
unveiled drastic plans to partially move to England, putting up to 5,000
finance jobs at risk.
The First Minister says reports of banks
leaving Scotland are 'nonsense' and 'scaremongering'.
Mr Salmond added that the No campaign has
been 'caught red-handed as being part of a campaign of scaremongering'.
'I'm not making that position against any
of the companies concerned,' he said.
'But quite clearly if you brief market
sensitive information last night to one broadcaster which was meant to be
released at 7am this morning, it put this Treasury fingerprints all over this
story, and it provides a spectacular example of the sort of campaign tactics of
intimidation and bullying that have served the No campaign so badly.'
Mr Salmond's vision of an energy-rich
future was also dismissed as a fantasy by a leading Scottish oilman and BP and
Shell also came out against independence.
And Bank of England Governor Mark Carney
piled on the pressure by warning that Edinburgh would have to set aside around
£130billion to guarantee savers' bank deposits.
Today more than one hundred business
leaders from all over Scotland have also backed a No vote.
Leading business figures in all sectors
across Scotland said they have concluded that the economic risks of separation
are not worth taking.
Food prices will rise in an independent Scotland, says supermarket giant
Asda as Next and John Lewis warn of rising costs
Supermarket giant Asda today became the
biggest retailer to warn shoppers that prices will rise in Scotland if becomes
an independent country.
In a blunt warning to customers,
Britain's second largest retailer said trading across a new border would make
business more 'complex' and push up costs.
The pain would be felt by the working
class vote being targeted by both sides in the referendum campaign, and comes
after big names like John Lewis and B&Q warned their prices would rise in
an independent Scotland.
Supermarket giant Asda said it costs more
to do business in Scotland, which would be passed on to shoppers if it became a
separate country
First Minister Alex Salmond today tried
to brush aside the warnings about the devastating impact of independence on
family budgets, claiming the threats were not new.
But with just a week until the historic
vote on breaking up the union and the latest poll putting No ahead,
pro-independence campaigners will struggle to reassure going it alone will not
hit Scots in their pocket.
Our business model would inevitably
become more complex. We would have to reflect our cost to operate
Operating in Scotland is more expensive
more for large retail chains than in more densely populated parts of England,
but they absorb the costs to ensure prices are the same across the UK.
But if Scotland becomes a separate
country it would be treated like other overseas operations where prices are
higher.
Today Asda issued its strongest warning
yet that prices would have to rise.
Andy Clarke, president and CEO of Asda,
said: 'If we were no longer to operate in one state with one market and –
broadly – one set of rules, our business model would inevitably become more
complex. We would have to reflect our cost to operate here.
'This is not an argument for or against independence;
it is simply an honest recognition of the costs that change could bring.’
'For us the customer is always right and
this important decision is in their hands.'
It came hours after the head of the John
Lewis Partnership also warned it would cost Scots more to shop in their nine
John Lewis and Waitrose stores.
Chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield told BBC
Radio 4: 'It does cost more money to trade in parts of Scotland and therefore
those hard costs, in the event of a Yes vote, are more likely to be passed on.'
He added: 'On the day after the
referendum the shops are going to open on time, nothing will change.
'For various reasons - regulation and
transport costs etc - it does currently cost more money to serve parts of
Scotland.
'Most retailers don't run different
prices, they absorb that in the totality.
'If you go forward several years and you
see a divergence of different things - particularly currency - that creates the
likelihood, not the certainty, that costs would be higher.
'And when you are talking about two
different countries it is most probable that most retailers would then start
pricing differently.
'My view would be that the likelihood is
that that would lead to some higher prices.'
Lord Wolfson, the boss of clothes store
Next, also voiced fears about the impact of independence, including the loss of
well-paid workers from the financial sectors who could move south.
He said: 'I'm worried about three things:
currency, taxes and jobs. Whatever currency comes in in Scotland, it's likely
to be weaker than the one they've got, and that is likely to push up prices.
'Nobody quite knows what the financial
situation will be in Scotland — it may be fine but there is obviously a risk
that taxes will have to go up and financial-services firms are already saying
that if there is a 'Yes' vote, they'll leave.'
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown,
speaking in Kilmarnock today, insisted the Yes campaign 'can't dismiss
all of the warnings all of the time'
Earlier this week the boss of B&Q
owner Kingfisher warned the costs of DIY would rise in an independent Scotland.
Sir Ian Cheshire had already warned he
will mothball investment in Scotland if it votes for independence until details
of the separation becomes clear.
But he went even on Tuesday saying:
'Smaller, more complex markets often mean passing higher costs on to consumers.
We think there is a real risk in terms of higher costs, the uncertainty about a
currency union and the difficulty of making investment decisions. Investment decisions would be on pause while
we work out what's likely to happen.’
We are not going to pick up stores and
move them south of the Border, but [a Yes vote] would represent real and
significant challenge for our business.'
Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said:
'The cost of doing business here is higher than the rest of the UK, but because
we pool and share resources that keeps costs down. If we vote for separation
then we are voting for higher shopping prices. Scottish families should be in
no doubt – if we vote to leave the UK it would cost us all dear.
'Why take on the risk of separation when
we can have the certainty of change within the UK?'
But Scottish Finance Secretary John
Swinney said other major retailers had rejected claims prices would rise.
'I think the argument is one that is
firmly contested by other retailers,' he said.
Alex Salmond has been pilloried after unveiling a blueprint for Scottish
independence that assumes the English would continue to share the UK’s
‘crown jewels’ including the pound and BBC programmes.
The First Minister’s long-awaited White Paper on independence promised
Scotland “will” retain sterling and would seek to join the EU on the same
terms as the UK, including a euro opt-out and a share of Baroness Thatcher’s
rebate.
A separate Scotland would assume a much lower share of the UK’s national debt
than previously thought, spend more on childcare and a new Scottish
Broadcasting Service would show the BBC’s output, the document said.
But Mr Salmond refused to acknowledge that the English, Welsh and Northern
Irish may not go along with his “common sense” proposals if there is a ‘yes’
vote in September’s referendum.
The 650-page document contained no ‘Plan B’ for a separate Scotland’s currency
despite a series of political figures led by George Osborne, the Chancellor,
warning that a deal to share sterling was unlikely.
Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor and leader of the pro-UK Better
Together campaign, said the Scottish Government had produced a “wish list of
political promises” with few details or costings.
The White Paper did not attempt to price the setting up of a new nation state
or address a report by the impartial Institute for Fiscal Studies last week,
which said an extra £6 billion of spending cuts or tax rises would have to
be found.
Keeping sterling is vital to Mr Salmond’s hopes of winning the referendum,
with the White Paper promising Scots that their pensions and mortgages would
be unaffected by independence.
And,
after Scotland is not refused a currency union, EU membership (for at
least 5 years), and is not admitted to NATO, what will happen then to
sweet, 'lil Nessie?
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