The SNP has been accused of pandering to Prince Charles after previously confidential letters show the party acceding to his hand-written requests.
The Prince of Wales privately lobbied Alex Salmond when he was first minister to help fund the purchase of a historic stately home and help his own Highlands food brand, according to the correspondence from the infamous “Black Spider” memos cache.
Extracts from letters released by the Scottish government under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation — written in the Prince’s spidery writing — reveal he also wrote to the former SNP leader calling for financial aid to the Soil Association in Scotland, of which he is patron, for an initiative promoting healthy food.
The Prince wrote to him on June 15, 2009, asking him to investigate whether “there could be some form of support to assist the Soil Association in having to cut back their capacity” for a healthy food initiative.
In his reply to the latter request, Mr Salmond asked his officials to investigate the possibility and signed off: “I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Royal Highness’s most humble and obedient servant.”
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In another letter on June 7, 2008, Prince Charles requested that Mr Salmond appoint experts to help his Highland food brand, Mey Selections, develop low carbon systems. The Prince also expressed his “heartfelt thanks” on July 1, 2007, for the Scottish government’s £5 million donation towards the purchase of Dumfries House in Ayrshire.
The release of the letters brought accusations from anti-monarchy campaigners of “political meddling” by Prince Charles.
Neil Findlay, the Scottish campaign chief for Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to become UK Labour leader, said the supposed radicals in the SNP were revealing they were really monarchist supporters.
“This reveals the former first minister’s credentials as a rather dutiful subject who is partial to being a bit of a sook with the royal family,” he said.
Republic, a group campaigning for the end of the monarchy, said: “We need full disclosure of Prince Charles’s letters so we can see the full extent of his political meddling. Scottish voters need to know whether government policy and spending of public money are being based on the best judgement of ministers or on pressure from Royals.”
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Mr Salmond, now MP for Gordon, said he supported the release of the letters. The money spent on Dumfries House was “probably the best spent £5 million in Scottish history”, he insisted.