John Swinney was ‘astounded’ at the First Minister’s clothing donation row Achi-News

The First Minister and his wife, Dame Victoria Starmer, have faced scrutiny over receiving donations, including clothing, from prominent Labor donor and peer, Lord Alli.

Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves will not accept such gifts in future.

Mr Swinney said he was very surprised when news of the donations first emerged.

He said: “I think, like most members of the public, my jaw dropped when I heard this story came to light.

“I never thought this happened. I was amazed by it. So I’m not surprised they stopped doing it, because it’s completely ridiculous, and I certainly don’t think it’s the way well-paid public servants should be operating .”

Asked if the Prime Minister and senior ministers have done the right thing by saying they will no longer accept clothes, he said: “Yes, but they shouldn’t have been doing it in the first place.”

Mr Swinney said he has never been offered clothes.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny (Image: (Phil Noble / PA)) Sir Keir says he has followed all the rules on accepting donations.

In recent weeks the Prime Minister, who is a keen Arsenal fan, has also come under pressure to receive over £35,000 in free football tickets over the last Parliament.

Despite being an Arsenal season ticket holder, Sir Keir told the BBC on Thursday that security concerns meant he could no longer watch games from the stands without a large and expensive police presence.

He told the BBC he was “not going to ask the taxpayer to allow me to be in the stands when I could go and sit somewhere else where the club and the security say it’s safer for me be”.

Mr Swinney said he has not received sports tickets as gifts, although he has attended matches he was invited to in his capacity as First Minister, such as when he was invited to the Scotland v Poland match by the Scottish Football Association.

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Speaking in Glasgow on Saturday, he was asked if he would stop attending such events, and said he would continue to do so in his official capacity.

He replied: “This is an event I have been invited to in my capacity as First Minister. So I’m certainly going to continue to do that, because I will fulfill my duties as Prime Minister.”

He said politicians must be “totally transparent” about such matters.

The First Minister added: “There are very clear rules regarding all these things, and they should specify exactly what they are doing in that regard.”

John Swinney joined the campaigners on Saturday (Image: Jane Barlow/PA)

The SNP leader spoke at an event with fellow Members of Parliament and campaigners in Glasgow on Saturday about what the SNP describes as a national “day of action” by the party.

He said he wanted to ensure that people saw independence as the answer to day-to-day challenges as the SNP launched a new leaflet on the issue.

Mr Swinney said: “Ten years after the independence referendum, people are thinking about the future of Scotland, and I want to make sure that message resonates across our country.

“So the SNP is embarking on quite a bit of campaigning to identify the benefits and opportunities of independence for the people of Scotland.

“In particular, I want us to make sure that we reach people who don’t yet believe in independence, in terms of the future of Scotland, and to make sure that we can give the convincing arguments then for them and I’m very pleased with the work. which the party is doing now, to reach out and convey that message to a wider audience.”

The leaflet highlights five key things independence supporters say would be different if Scotland were no longer part of the UK, promising that this would lead to cheaper energy prices and the removal of nuclear weapons from waters Scotland.

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It also promises that in an independent Scotland the NHS would always be free at the point of use, that economic growth would be boosted as it would no longer be part of a “broken Westminster system” and that Scots would always have the government they vote for.

It comes as the SNP tries to recover from defeat in the 2024 general election, the first opinion poll in Scotland it has lost since 2010, with a result that saw the SNP’s MPs fall from 48 in 2019 to just nine.

When asked if there is much desire to talk about independence when many people are more concerned about issues such as the cost of living crisis and day-to-day challenges, Mr Swinney said that an independent Scotland could offer a solution to these.

He said: “My priority is to make sure that independence is seen as the answer to the day-to-day challenges that people face in their lives.

“So if people are concerned, as I understand people are, about the cost of living, it is essential that they see independence as the answer to that particular challenge and that difficulty, so that’s it” n problem.

“An attitude of that kind makes independence relevant to the daily concerns of members of the public within Scotland, and that is the way I think we will gain confidence and support around independence.”