Lamont: SNP ‘dishonest and deceptive’

Johann Lamont has accused the SNP of running the most “dishonest, deceptive and disgraceful political campaign” in Scotland’s history.

The Scottish Labour leader used her keynote speech at the party’s conference in Perth to launch a diatribe on the Nationalists’ honesty in the case for independence.

She said she will not shirk from telling Scotland about the “difficult truths” facing the country in her bid to make Labour the “people’s party once again”.

But the attack came just hours after former party leader Henry McLeish said Labour must “stop hating Salmond and the SNP”.

Miss Lamont used her speech to pledge Labour’s planned shake-up of devolution will deliver a “powerhouse” Scottish Parliament.

On independence, Miss Lamont said: “The nationalists are running the most dishonest, deceptive and disgraceful political campaign this country has ever seen.

“Their strategy is not to convince the people of Scotland it is to drag them over the line to a place of no return outside the UK.

“Decent nationalists throughout this country must be hanging their heads in shame at the campaign that is being run.

She added that the Yes campaign “will go down as the worst campaign of mis-selling in history”.

A spokesman for the First Minister said: “Scottish Labour and Johann Lamont appear obsessed with the SNP Government, and are still in denial about being out of office.

“If they want to be honest, they have to publish the results of their Cuts Commission, and tell us what social measures brought in by the SNP and previous administrations that they will scrap.”

Earlier in the day former First Minister Mr McLeish said his party must be tolerant of the dissident Labour For Independence group.

McLeish sat alongside Allan Grogan, leader of Labour For Independence, at a packed conference fringe meeting and urged his party to be “tolerant of dissident voices”.

He said: “A genuine concern I have is let’s stop hating Salmond and the SNP.

“I don’t like the fact that Salmond won in 2007 and 2011, but let’s remember somebody must have voted for him.

“So I’m saying lets have a lot of voices and a lot of arguments.”