Salmond U-turn on pay rise 'hypocrisy'

ALEX Salmond is to donate all his pay increase as a Westminster MP to charity after he was accused of hypocrisy for taking the rise while his ministers accept a wage freeze.

The Scottish Government's 16 ministers agreed to take a voluntary pay freeze, both in their ministerial salaries and in the pay they receive as MSPs.

The freeze also applies to the First Minister – but not to the salary he receives as a Westminster MP, which is due to go up by 2.33 per cent.

Political opponents led by Liberal Democrat chief whip Mike Rumbles had attacked Mr Salmond for double standards.

There had been anger too at his "implied pressure" on other MSPs to take a similar pay freeze.

But yesterday, Mr Salmond's spokesman said the First Minister plans to donate the net increase to a charitable trust and insisted the move was not a reaction to claims of hypocrisy.

The untaxed part of his £1,457 pay increase as a Westminster MP, approximately £870, will go to the Mary Salmond Trust, named after his mother. The trust was set up when he was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 so that he would not personally benefit from two salaries.

As a dual parliamentarian, he is only entitled to about £18,500, one-third of an MSP's salary. This goes to the trust. However, on top of his MP's salary, he receives £80,224 as First Minister.

On Tuesday night, his spokesman indicated that he would only put the £430 shortfall from not taking the MSP rise into the charity, and pocket the rest. But yesterday, he clarified that Mr Salmond would put in the full MP pay rise after tax.

All his ministers have agreed to not take the 2.33 per cent increase on the MSP and ministerial salary which they were entitled to once MPs agreed to the same rise. This will save £15,000 for the taxpayer on ministerial salaries alone.

Before the change of decision, Mr Rumbles said: "It really is wrong of Mr Salmond to push other MSPs to take a pay freeze – it is a private matter.

"It is also sheer hypocrisy to push a pay freeze in Holyrood and take a pay increase from his Westminster salary."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have done this as an act of solidarity with all the people who are struggling in the recession, to show we are all in it together.

"So none of the members of the Scottish Government will be pocketing a penny more.

"This, of course, is against a background of very real scandals about expenses in Westminster."

However, it was unclear whether more than a handful of MSPs would follow suit yesterday.

Only the Greens confirmed they would freeze their pay, too, while Nationalist Western Isles MSP Alasdair Allan said he would donate his extra £1,300 to charity.