SCOTLAND'S First Minister has responded to shouts of "traitor" from the crowd outside the memorial of Alex Salmond last month.
John Swinney, was met with boos as he arrived and left the service – held on St Andrew’s Day – with at the crowd outside on the Royal Mile shouting “traitor” as well as "shame on you".
Speaking a week after the abuse, the First Minister also spoke of maintaining some semblance of a home life.
Swinney – who rarely opens up about hit personal life – said: “I don’t think that kind of behaviours really is for that occasion, but it’s water off a duck’s back for me.”
He had been assisting his wife, Elizabeth Quigley, who has mobility issues caused by multiple sclerosis – into the venue.
When asked how she – an accomplished former BBC political journalist – had handled it, Swinney said: “As an experienced, formidable political journalist who I’m very pleased is no longer asking me questions on camera, my wife’s well versed in politics.”
Swinney took over the top job unexpectedly earlier this year after the resignation of Humza Yousaf in May.
Swinney returned after a year-long “sabbatical” – as he describes it – following his nine-year tenure as deputy first minister to Nicola Sturgeon.
In the early weeks of his tenure the First Minister stressed the importance of finding time to spend with his teenage son and wife.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Swinney said it had been “challenging” this week in particular, with the Scottish Government publishing his first budget since taking the top job.
“I’ve had a very demanding week – I have a demanding week every week, but this is a particularly demanding week,” he said.
“So I stood to be away from home for a very protracted amount of time, but I managed to get home on Tuesday and then the minute I got home, I took Matthew to his hockey practice.”
He added: “For me to get home and take him to hockey, I came back into work on Wednesday morning for budget day feeling as if I had got the balance right and the balance was taking my son to hockey – so that made me feel very at ease.”
