Salmond under fire for donation to Islamic group
ALEX Salmond came under renewed attack over SNP links to a Islamic group as it emerged he agreed to give it taxpayers’ cash before it was legally established.
Earlier this month the Scottish Government clawed back £128,000 paid to the Scottish-Islamic Foundation (SIF), founded by leading SNP campaigner Osama Saeed, for an event that never happened.
The unprecedented move prompted demands for a parliamentary inquiry into the £400,000 the group has received in public funding over the past 18 months.
But the First Minister came under mounting pressure over his apparent patronage yesterday.
It was disclosed he agreed to a personal request from Mr Saeed to hand over £125,000 for his IslamFest event two months before the group was registered.
In an e-mail response to Mr Saeed’s request for the cash, dated March 2008, Lesley Irving of the Scottish Government’s communities and equalities unit asked him if he had booked a venue for the cultural and trade event. She wrote: “If so, we could provide you with £125,000 right away for that. Are there any other costs which could be met up front now?”
The document, released under Freedom of Information laws, then suggests that the grant application contains a section about returning funds if the project does not work out “for the sake of our auditors”. Ms Irving’s e-mail continues: “However it isn’t a problem as FM has already agreed you should get it, it’s just to keep the paper trail as sound as we can.”
Mr Saeed, 29, SIF’s chief executive, is an SNP activist and former researcher for Mr Salmond. He is also expected to contest the Glasgow Central seat.
Glasgow Labour MSP Frank McAveety, who has called for an investigation of the SNP’s dealings with the group, said: “What other organisation seeking public money would have been given that level of preferential treatment?” But Mr Salmond’s spokesman dismissed the attack, saying the issue had been inherited from the Labour/Lib Dem adminstration. He added: “Although the First Minister agreed in principle to funding, it had to go through the normal procedures.”
The £1.4million IslamFest was due to take place at Glasgow’s SECC in June but was shelved.
Mr Saeed yesterday confirmed the Scottish Government had been repaid and added: “Many in our position would simply have cobbled something together and spent the money. This would not have been good enough for the high standards we set ourselves.”
