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Hapless Angus Robertson has been mocked after it was revealed he has four taxpayer-funded press officers to “spin” for him – at a cost of more than £100k. The Scottish Government has over 50 media and communications staff who work over different departments and deal with media requests.
At last count there was 52.8 full-time equivalent spin doctors – all paid for by the public purse. These are counted as civil servants, meaning they work to concoct government lines but don’t give political advice and can’t work on party matters, unlike special advisers who can.
The Scottish Daily Express can reveal that four press officers are delegated to work with Mr Robertson in his role of Culture, Constitution and External Affairs Secretary. He is the only Minister in that department after John Swinney axed the Independence Minister role. The cost of these is at least £137k, with this being based on the lowest salary bands.
It means he has those spin doctors to himself to help him within the department, sending out press releases and dealing with media requests. Recently, he has been involved in launching a new Scexit document which was rubbished by critics, as well as being accused of lying to MSPs by claiming he has never been invited to a Historic Environment Scotland board meeting.
READ MORE: John Swinney leads SNP Government that ‘habitually lies’ to the public as he faces ministerial code breach claim
His role as External Affair Secretary lets him enjoy numerous trips abroad, paid for by the taxpayer, and has seen him be mocked as “Air Miles” Angus. He admitted at the weekend that he discusses breaking up the UK with foreign diplomats, despite this being a reserved matter.
Critics pondered whether it was a good use of taxpayer time and money to have spin doctors dedicated to Mr Robertson who seems to be incompetent at looking after the culture sector, and strays into reserved matters with his other two responsibilities.
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser told the Scottish Daily Express: “Hard-pressed Scots will be appalled that Airmiles Angus Robertson is squandering a small fortune on spin doctors. These highly paid propagandists have certainly got their work cut out as Historic Environment Scotland continues to descend into chaos on his watch.
“SNP ministers keep telling us there is no money for tax cuts for working Scots, but when it comes to covering up their abysmal record the nationalists are happy to spend like sailors on shore leave. This is why we have set out plans to cut the size of the swollen civil service and ensure money goes to frontline services.”
The Scottish Government’s external PR spend was £266,886 in the last financial year, despite already hiring over 50 press officers, with the number of these falling from 54.9 in 2021 to 52.8. It was claimed by a government source that it has been reducing its workforce since March 2022, despite figures published on Sunday highlighting a more than £50m increase in the costs of running the SNP Executive.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Effective communication, deploying various media, social media, marketing and public relations is essential to raise awareness of government policies, and to encourage uptake of key public services. The number of staff working in communications fluctuates across the year but numbers have remained stable in recent years following a temporary peak during the course of the Covid pandemic response.”
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