A former Holyrood presiding officer has accused St Andrews students of being “anti-Scottish” and claimed the institution is “not a Fife university” after a controversial article appeared in its campus newspaper.
Tricia Marwick, the chairwoman of NHS Fife and a former SNP MSP, criticised a “xenophobic” column in The Saint which suggested Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, would “put Beelzebub off his cornflakes” and claimed Scotland “would quite like to fleece England for all he’s worth”.
The publication, which is independent of the university, said the article was meant to be satirical. However, Marwick wrote on social media: “I regret that The Saint, run by University of St Andrews students, just buys into every stereotype we Fifers have of them.”
She described them as “poor souls who failed to get into Oxbridge”, “pathetic wee trolls” and claimed they were “anti-Scottish and anti-women”, adding: “They are not a Fife university.”
One St Andrews resident responded: “Complaining about prejudice by being prejudiced isn’t a good look.” Another wrote: “You are encouraging divisive hate to be piled on to these students.”
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In The Saint article Alexander Sparkes wrote: “Some say there’s a special place in hell reserved for Nicola Sturgeon, but I reckon she’d get turned away at the door for being too scary. Apparently, Satan thinks she’d put Beelzebub off his cornflakes.
“Denied the pleasure of frolicking in the flames, and never one to take ‘No’ for an answer, the lovely Ms Sturgeon has evidently decided to make Hell a place on Earth, and turn the once green and pleasant(-ish) land of Scotland into the ultimate Braveheart tribute act.
“I’ve yet to hear a more logical explanation for Scotland’s startling descent into tartan-clad madness that doesn’t involve an industrial accident at the Irn-Bru factory.”
It prompted Josh Traynor, a St Andrews student and SNP supporter, to call for the “bigoted, xenophobic and blatantly misogynistic” article to be retracted. “Any debate on Scotland’s future must be conducted respectfully, fairly and accurately,” he said.
A spokesman for the student newspaper said: “The Saint recognises the offence this article has caused.
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“The author’s intent was to satirise those who participate in an ill-informed manner in the Scottish independence debate.”
Donald Cameron MSP, the Scottish Conservative spokesman for the constitution, external affairs and culture, said: “The irony is, while attempting to speak out about prejudice, Tricia Marwick displays her own all too clearly.
“St Andrews University is a world-famous institution we should be proud of, and perhaps this ill-judged rant reveals more about the SNP than they realise.”
