JOHN Swinney hit out at the “stinking reek of hypocrisy” of politicians from other political parties criticising Alex Salmond for presenting a show on RT, the channel formerly known as Russia Today.

The Deputy First Minister, standing in for Nicola Sturgeon at question time in Holyrood yesterday, was asked to distance the Scottish Government from Salmond’s show on the Vladimir Putin-backed network.

Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie also asked Swinney if he thought Salmond would be “a fit and proper person to own The Scotsman when he is being paid by President Putin’s propaganda channel”.

Rennie added that at a meeting with the Estonian ambassador in Holyrood that morning, MSPs had been told to regard RT as a “Kremlin-backed propaganda”.

Swinney said that Salmond has “made a choice about the platform for his television programme and the First Minister has set out her perspective on that.

“I understand, although I have not seen it myself, that Mr Salmond had guests from the Labour Party and the Conservative Party on the programme that was broadcast earlier today, so I suspect that that reflects the plurality of the choice of guests who will be on his programme.”

Rennie replied: “It should turn our stomachs to know that a former First Minister of this country is giving the channel credibility and legitimacy by launching his show on it,”

Scotland’s reputation abroad has been damaged and the small countries along the Russian border in particular will be deeply concerned by the decision of Alex Salmond. However, he does not speak for Scotland in that regard.”

Rennie then asked: “What is the government doing to distance itself from Alex Salmond?”

Swinney pointed out that Rennie’s boss, LibDem leader Vince Cable had himself appeared on RT in 2015.

He also reminded the Chamber that Sturgeon, who was at a UN climate conference in Germany, had distanced herself from Salmond’s decision and said RT would not have been her channel of choice.

Swinney said: “It is important to say that the First Minister set out that if she had been asked what channel it was appropriate for Alex Salmond’s programme to be broadcast on, she would not have chosen Russia Today.

“However, it is an issue that Alex Salmond, who is not currently an elected politician, is free to take forward as he wishes.

“It is fair for me to say about the whole question, however, that I have been struck by the stinking reek of hypocrisy from every other political party on it.”

SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth tweeted: “Potentially 1000 jobs to go at BiFab – many in Fife – and Willie Rennie wants to talk about Alex Salmond? Pathetic. #FMQs”