Rennie: Salmond would dine out with Devil to further independence cause

I've been watching the love in between Alex Salmond and Rupert Murdoch with an increasing sense of foreboding. And it appears I might have good reason.

Have a look at this succession of tweets from Andrew Neil:

Especially the one where he says:

Murdoch never much liked UK but post-hacking he hates it. His revenge is to campaign for its break up. Scot Sun will back independence.

Apparently there's also a plot afoot to move the whole of BSkyB to Edinburgh.

The First Minister seems to be delighted to have such a backer for his cause that he's prepared to overlook the Murdoch empire's shameful record on phone hacking. Writing in the Sun on Sunday he said:

 "But the questions the probe is looking at relate to the industry, not one newspaper or company.

Aye, so it will, but why exactly was it set up in the first place? Because it emerged that the News of the World (prop that Murdoch man who was getting all cosy in Brute House last week) had hacked murdered Milly Dowler's phone. Does journalistic practice actually get more despicable than that?

You have to wonder what sort of media regulation there will be in an independent Scotland if Rupert and Alex  have their way. 

It's almost as if Salmond just doesn't care any more. He knows he's popular and quite clearly feels that he can do what he likes, even if that means sucking up to someone whose company has shown exceptionally poor ethical standards in its journalistic practices in order to secure media backing for independence.

I'm thrilled to see that Willie Rennie has challenged him on this. Many people will be glad that someone is standing up to the First Minister's increasingly ill-judged dalliances with the rich and powerful. 

“By seeking to exploit Rupert Murdoch's spiteful revenge for phone hacking the First Minister has confirmed that he will dine out with the devil to get his way on independence.

“The First Minister has already defended News International in his recent Sun on Sunday column and now he's seeking a grubby deal with the media tycoon to support splitting Scotland from the rest of the UK.

"This is a cynical attempt to exploit Rupert Murdoch's personal grudge and grievance against UK politicians who rightly criticised the News of the World and the Sun over phone hacking.

“The real substance of last week’s cosy fire-side chat with Rupert wasn't jobs but his revenge over Leveson. Has the First Minister no shame?"

If you are as outraged as Willie that Salmond has "traded defence of Murdoch over phone hacking for Murdoch's support for independence, why not get regular updates from him on his Facebook page?

Note that we're not hearing much on this from either Ruth Davidson or Johann Lamont, whose parties have heavily courted the Murdoch empire over the years.