Speaker Shuns Salmond
I'll be interested to see which guests agree to be interviewed for Alex Salmond's new Kremlin TV show in the weeks ahead, but so far it's proving to be a hard sell than his recent 'comedy' act at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The Herald reports that the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has already pulled out and apparently David Cameron, former Conservative prime minister and party leader, gave his invitation the 'cold shoulder' as well.
MPs from the House of Commons paid for previous appearances on Russia Today and I suspect that's standard practice for other guests as well.
MPs must declare all such payments in the Register of MPs' Interests although I can't see why politicians should receive an extra fee for doing what most voters would regard as part of their day job.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15661696.Salmond_facing_TV_boycott_as_Commons_Speaker_pulls_out/
Salmond facing TV boycott as Commons Speaker pulls out
By Tom Gordon - The Herald
ALEX Salmond is facing a boycott of his new chat show on a pro-Kremlin TV channel after House of Commons Speaker John Bercow withdrew as an early guest.
Mr Bercow, who took part in Mr Salmond’s recent Edinburgh Fringe show, had initially agreed to be on the TV version but pulled out after learning it would be on RT.
The channel is forced to register in the US as an arm of the Russian Government, and is widely seen as a mouthpiece of president Vladimir Putin.
Scotland's Benny Hill (16/11/17)
I enjoyed the First Minister's put down of her predecessor Alex Salmond whose sense of humour she likened to that very well known but horribly dated comedian, the one and only Benny Hill.
I think Ms Sturgeon may also have had a more serious message for 'Wee Eck' along the lines of - For God's sake Alex, why don't you STFU!
Nicola Sturgeon: 'Alex Salmond is not sexist' after 'Benny Hill' joke
Nicola Sturgeon has defended her predecessor Alex Salmond over a joke he made during his Edinburgh fringe festival show.
The former first minister has been accused of sexism over the innuendo, which mentioned Ms Sturgeon as well as Prime Minister Theresa May, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and First Lady Melania Trump.
However, Ms Sturgeon insisted that "Alex Salmond is not sexist", saying "I think I would know if he was sexist, and emphatically he is not".
She added: "Occasionally Alex is not as funny as he thinks he is, and perhaps this is an example of a joke which belongs more in the Benny Hill era than in the modern era."
