Tory grandee Sir Malcolm Rifkind threw down the gauntlet to Alex Salmond last night with a challenge to set out what will happen if Scots vote Yes in September’s independence referendum.
The former foreign secretary said there was a “deafening silence” from the First Minister over key issues regarding the country’s future, such as sharing the pound, and membership of the EU and NATO.
In a speech at the Farmers Club in Edinburgh, the MP for Kensington said Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had “made it crystal clear” they would not agree a currency union between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Sir Malcolm also criticised SNP policy to demand NATO membership while simultaneously expelling Trident nuclear submarines, a “crucial part” of the alliance’s defence strategy.
“The currency that Scotland would use, our membership of the European Union and of NATO, are the three most crucial issues that would define an independent Scotland’s relations with the wider world,” he said.
“On each of these Alex Salmond has nothing to say on what he would do if his assertions turn out to be incorrect.”
An SNP spokesman said: “It is ironic that Malcolm Rifkind is back in Scotland trying to tell Scottish farmers what is best for them.
“He was voted out as part of the Tory wipeout in 1997. The reason he wants No is because it is the only way the Tories can govern Scotland with just one MP.”