A ROW has broken out after it was revealed that Nicola Sturgeon was paid £25,000 to appear on ITV’s General Election coverage – with the Scottish Tories accusing her of “hypocrisy”.
It comes after the former first minister’s appearance fee was made public on her register of interests in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday. However, it was not paid directly to her but to her company, Nicola Sturgeon Limited.
The register also showed that Sturgeon accepted accommodation and travel worth around £3100 in relation to her appearance as an ITV pundit in July.
After the figures became public, Scottish Tory finance spokesperson Craig Hoy accused Sturgeon of “shameless hypocrisy”.
The accusation centred on the fact that, in 2019, the SNP had attacked Ruth Davidson after she accepted £7500 for doing similar pundit work.
“Serving politicians who appear on election night broadcasts do so to represent their party – not to pick up a paycheque. This payment is unprecedented – and she should now hand it back."
Tory MSP Hoy said on Thursday: “Nicola Sturgeon probably reckons she earned every penny of her huge fee for having to squirm on live TV as her own toxic legacy led to SNP seats tumbling on election night, but this declaration exposes her shameless hypocrisy.
“Having the ITV fee paid to her company is clearly a ruse to avoid paying the higher rates of income tax her incompetent SNP Government have imposed on hard-working Scots and which she personally championed.
“So much for those with the broadest shoulders bearing the heaviest burden. It’s hard not to conclude that Nicola Sturgeon is an utter fraud.”
Amid the fallout, a spokesperson for Sturgeon said that she had not received any money from her company, and that it would be taxed in the proper way when she did so.
They further said: “Nicola was paid the fee offered by ITV for her appearance on the election results programme and has registered it accordingly.”
First Minister John Swinney was also asked about the row by media in Holyrood on Thursday. He said that he believed the SNP had been wrong to attack Davidson in 2019.
Asked if Sturgeon should resign, as SNP figures had demanded of Davidson, Swinney said: "No, I don't think she should, and I think the call that was made for Ruth Davidson to resign was the wrong call.”
Asked if he thought it was “one rule for one and another for others”, Swinney said: “No. I just said I think it was the wrong call to make that call to Ruth Davidson.
“I don't think we should have been calling for that. I think we should let these things take their course and let folk register them, that's what the system was designed to do."
