Alex Salmond denies owning Stone of Scone fragment amid calls for him to hand it back
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Alex Salmond has denied possessing a fragment of the Stone of Scone a friend gave him as a gift, following calls from a former Scottish Secretary for the “stolen” piece to be handed back.
Scottish Cabinet papers from 2008 published this week disclosed that Mr Salmond was given the fragment by Prof Sir Neil MacCormick, whose father helped finance the stone’s theft from Westminster Abbey in 1950.
Also known as the Stone of Destiny, the kings and queens of Scotland were traditionally crowned on it. It was temporarily moved back to Westminster Abbey last May for the coronation of the King.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the Scottish Secretary who brought the stone back to Scotland, told The Telegraph the fragment was part of an “important constitutional relic” that belonged to the Crown.
He expressed astonishment that Mr Salmond, who was first minister at the time, had thought it appropriate to keep a gift “obtained as a result of a criminal act”.
Alister Jack, the current Scottish Secretary, said that the fragment “and any other pieces that were lost” at the time of the theft should be returned for display in the stone’s new home, a museum opening in Perth this spring.
But Mr Salmond said he did not have the fragment and could not recall what had happened to it, noting it was one of hundreds of gifts he received during his seven-and-a-half years as first minister.
The Alba Party leader said he thought it had been put in an “Aladdin’s Cave” cupboard for gifts, either in his Bute House official residence or his government’s St Andrew’s House headquarters.
However, he said it was not one of the gifts auctioned off for charity at the end of his tenure, with its current whereabouts a mystery.
Mr Salmond said the Scottish Government gave a fragment of the stone to the coachmaker of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s carriage for her Diamond Jubilee in 2011 to be encased in the seat but he did not know if it was the same one.
For centuries, the 150kg stone was kept at the now-ruined Scone Abbey near Perth where it was used as the seat for the inauguration of Scotland’s ancient kings.
In 1296, the English King Edward I seized it as spoils in the Wars of Independence and incorporated it into the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey. It has been used in the coronation ceremonies for every British monarch since.
The stone made headlines on Christmas Day 1950, when four Scottish nationalist students removed it from the abbey, breaking it in two in the process.
They were bankrolled and advised by John MacCormick, who helped found the SNP and was rector of Glasgow University at the time. He reportedly gave the students £50 to help them and signed a note testifying to the stone’s authenticity.
After being stuck back together, it was found three months later at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey.
Lord Michael Forsyth arranged the return of the stone to Scotland in 1996 when he was Scottish Secretary and it was put on display at Edinburgh Castle.
It is scheduled to return to Perthshire for the first time in more than 700 years this spring when it will be moved to the new £26.5 million Perth Museum.
But files released by the National Records of Scotland this week disclosed that Sir Neil, a former SNP MEP, gave a fragment of the stone to Mr Salmond as a gift in 2008. The legal academic was suffering from terminal cancer and died in April 2009.
Lord Forsyth told the Telegraph that the piece was “stolen” property and should be returned “immediately” to Historic Environment Scotland, Historic Scotland’s successor.
He said: “I cannot imagine how Alex Salmond thought it appropriate to keep a gift of part of the stone which was obtained as a result of a criminal act. The fragment should be displayed in the new museum planned at Perth.”
The Scottish Secretary in John Major’s government also said it was “extraordinary” the gift had been kept secret and was approved by Sir John Elvidge, the Scottish Government’s permanent secretary at the time.
Mr Jack said: “The Stone of Scone is an artefact of immense historical importance.
“This fragment and any other pieces that were lost at the time it was taken should be in the care of the stone’s new home, Perth Museum, which I’m proud to say is being developed with £10 million of UK Government funding.”
Although he did not contest the accuracy of the Cabinet minutes, Mr Salmond said “the story may be rather more involved” than they suggested.
He said: “I am not altogether certain that Historic Scotland was enthused by the idea of multiple fragments of the stone coming into official possession, as they had completed their own tests on the authenticity of the relic, and Sir John Elvidge may have decided that designating it as private property was the most elegant solution.”
However, Mr Salmond insisted that he did not recall receiving the stone personally. Referring to the Jubilee gift, he said: “Whether that was the MacCormick fragment or another one, I am not altogether sure. What I can say, is that it is not in my possession, nor is it under my car seat!”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Stone of Destiny is the responsibility of the Commissioners for the Safeguarding of the Regalia.
“The Commissioners have been advised about the content of the 2008 Cabinet paper. The Scottish Government understands that the Commissioners have simply noted the historical position.”
