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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Chris McCall

Rangers mark 150th anniversary with Scotland Office event hosted by Alister Jack

Rangers Football Club marked the 150th anniversary of its foundation with a bash at the heart of the UK Government last week.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack made a short speech at the event which was held in the plush surroundings of Dover House in Whitehall.

The Grade I-listed neoclassical mansion is the official headquarters of the Scotland Office and is just a stone's throw from Downing Street.

The Record understands Gers legends Ally McCoist and Terry Butcher were among those on the guestlist.

The event was paid for and organised by the Ibrox club as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "Rangers Football Club held an event in Dover House last week to mark their 150th anniversary. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack attended the event and made a short speech.

"The reception was organised and paid for by the football club."

In a statement released before the event on June 8, Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson said: "We are very honoured and grateful to have been invited by the Secretary of State for Scotland to this very special event to mark the 150th anniversary of Rangers Football Club.

“I believe it speaks volumes for the contribution Rangers has made to our nation in a positive sense over these years that the club is being recognised in this manner, and we look forward to promoting the good name of Rangers even further this evening to invited guests from across the political spectrum, as well as wider society.”

The SNP has previously accused the Scotland Office of becoming a "Tory propaganda unit" in December after spending on communications at the Whitehall department soared since the 2014 independence referendum.

The UK Government has sought to counter what it views as a Nationalist-dominated Scottish Parliament by beefing up the office of the Secretary of State for Scotland - a role which was once considered semi-redundant in the devolution era.

A new seven-storey office building was opened in Edinburgh last year to act as a new "hub" for Westminster operations north of the Border, bringing together nearly 3,000 civil servants from 11 UK Government.

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