Trevor Kavanagh, Sun associate editor, on THOSE Sun covers: ‘Scotland is a mysterious country… we are against Labour in both countries’
Trevor Kavanagh, a columnist and associate editor of the Sun, defended his titles for their decision to diverge on opinion north and south of the border with the English edition endorsing the Conservatives and the Scottish edition the SNP.
On Thursday morning the English edition of the newspaper supported Conservative leader David Cameron to lead the UK with a cover anticipating the upcoming royal baby birth.
In contrast, the Scottish edition ran a Star Wars mock-up likening SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to rebel alliance figurehead Princess Leia.
The Scottish Sun: Vote SNP The Sun: Vote Tory, to stop the SNP UK Public: You know we talk to each other, right? pic.twitter.com/Wl2koKiOGV
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) April 29, 2015
On this dividing decision, Trevor Kavanagh, Sun associate editor, told the Daily Politics: “Scotland is a mysterious country we have two different editors, two different political editors and two different lots of readers.
“Those south of the border we think are more pro-Tory… we are against Labour in both countries. In Scotland, the Scottish Sun’s readers like [SNP].
“We are in the newspaper industry, I think we have to see there is a difference of opinion north of the border, they support the voice of the SNP and we have infact supported the SNP in the past in Scotland”, adding that “Murdoch paid very close attention to the independence debate”.
Earlier today, Chris Boffey former news editor of the Observer, Sunday Telegraph and the Mirror, told The Drum that the Sun’s decision to back Tories in the south and SNP in Scotland “seems schizophrenic and ,if not that, downright hypocritical” but added that it underpinned a wider anti-Labour narrative.