Unionist debate begins between The Scotsman columnist McAlpine and Scottish Review editor
Scottish journalist and broadcaster turned professional politician, Joan McAlpine, today embarked on a war of words with former BBC Scotland broadcaster Kenneth Roy.
McAlpine, elected to the Scottish Parliament in May from the South of Scotland regional list, has enjoined battle on the Scottish Review media website, edited by Roy.
McAlpine, who currently writes a weekly opinion piece for The Scotsman, has had an article published on the SR website today in which she takes contributor Dick Mungin, former chief executive office of Scotland funds, to task for a piece he wrote on that site last week.
Mungin last week highlighted McAlpine’s use of the description of ‘anti-Scottish’ in describing Scottish Unionists.
McAlpine has responded today by claiming that Mungin was guilty of ‘the same extremism and misrepresentation that he accuses others of’.
“He refers to my own work and says I accused unionists of being anti-Scottish. This is a crude misrepresentation of what I said, and indeed my political position generally. I think he is referring to my recent column in The Scotsman, in which I analysed the trend towards ultra-unionism as identified by James Mitchell, the professor of government at Strathclyde University,” added McAlpine.
She also said that the Mungin was aiming to paint the SNP government as ‘intolerant’ due to its majority as part of a ‘calculated strategy’ which has had little influence on voters, which she believed would fail.
“As a pro-independence writer I have been subject to all sorts of bile and personal abuse from the very aggressive online unionist community. I wouldn't dream of suggesting that these comments somehow reflect the approach of my parliamentary colleagues on the Labour, Liberal or Conservative benches,” continued McApline.
McAlpine had been tipped to be given a role by First Minister, Alex Salmond, in the new Scottish Government but this has not happened to date.