Alex Salmond’s Alba Party has slammed the UK and the US governments for “hyping the prospect of war” in Ukraine.
The pro-independence movement led by the former First Minister blamed western governments and the media for stoking panic over the threatened invasion by Russian forces.
Salmond, whose chat show is still broadcast on the Kremlin-backed propaganda channel RT, left it to Neal Hanvey to voice the party’s opposition to the drumbeat of war.
The Kirkcaldy MP, who left the SNP to join Alba last year, said: “I have been watching with growing concern the apparent and increasing appetite for conflict in Ukraine.
"In recent days this has developed into a determined hyping of impending conflict with many weekend newspapers running front page headlines that unfortunately lacked any credible evidence to support such alarm in the copy below.”
Hanvey claimed there was no hard evidence of Russian plans to invade and recalled the briefings for the 2003 invasion of Iraq which proved to be false
He said: “What we have repeatedly heard is assertions from UK and US sources of intelligence that such a conflict is imminent, but again there has been a distinct lack of evidence beyond those assertions when the matter has been pressed.
“Memories may be short in some journalistic and political circles, but I know that many have not forgotten the catastrophic consequences of the dodgy dossier that took us to war in Iraq.
"We must not repeat such mistakes and we cannot go to war based on assertions.”
Hanvey added: “No more clearly has this sentiment been expressed than by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy who stated yesterday that he himself has yet to see convincing evidence.It is simply inconceivable that we should be ramping up the case for war when the President of the country concerned remains unconvinced that a case for conflict exists.”
Salmond, who set up the Alba party after a toxic fall-out with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, previously spoke out about Nato airstrikes of Serbia in 1999 - describing the action as an "unpardonable folly".
The former SNP leader continues to host the Alex Salmond Show on RT along with former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
