SNP candidate accused of 'fibbing' about place of birth

Alex Salmond has accused Labour of resorting to "desperate" tactics in the Glasgow North East byelection after the Scottish National party's candidate was accused of "fibbing" about where he was born.

Labour has attacked David Kerr for allegedly misrepresenting his place of birth after it emerged that Kerr's campaigning leaflets for two previous Westminster campaigns in Falkirk (SEE THE 2000 LEAFLET) and (THE 2001 LEAFLET) had claimed he had been "born and educated" in Cumbernauld.

Kerr's leaflets for the Glasgow North East campaign (SEE THE 2009 LEAFLET) state he was born in the constituency, a claim Labour has also challenged since Kerr, a BBC journalist and former BBC Scotland Newsnight producer, was actually born in a private Catholic nursing home in Govan, on the other side of the Clyde.

In a sign that the campaign for the seat is getting increasingly bitter and robust, Labour plans to start distributing thousands of leaflets in the area today and full colour news-sheets to all 37,000 homes, accusing Kerr of being "two-faced" and "embarrassed" about his local roots.

Labour, currently favourite to retain the seat vacated by the resignation of former Commons Speaker Michael Martin, has campaigned vigorously on the local credentials of its candidate, Willie Bain, the only one of the 13 candidates for the seat who lives there.

Labour has branded the issue "birthgate" and believes it is the "pivotal gaffe" in the campaign.

Salmond accused Labour of resorting to smear tactics because they feared the SNP was closing the gap on Labour in the last nine days of campaigning before the vote on Thursday 12 November.

Salmond, who joined Kerr to campaign at an Asda superstore in Robroyston at lunchtime, said it was ludicrous for Labour to attack Kerr for being born in a maternity hospital in Govan. His family lived at the time on Duke Street, now on the southern edge of Glasgow North East, and he lived there for two years before the family moved to Cumbernauld.

"This is absolutely not an issue," Salmond said. "This was a mistake made in a campaigning leaflet 10 years ago. It's old stuff and it's not important in the campaign."

He added that Labour knew the SNP campaign was gaining ground. He was "getting increasingly encouraged by this increased support. [I] think that the swing is with the SNP. We are the underdogs, we're still behind and we've still got a gap to close but we're right in there, and I think that's detectable in the desperation that Labour is showing."

Kerr told Newsnight Scotland last night that the claims in his leaflets for the 2000 byelection and 2001 general election campaigns in Falkirk were the fault of an "overenthusiastic leaflet writer", which were "quickly corrected". Labour said the claims about being born in Cumbernauld appeared in three separate leaflets.

Kerr said today Labour's attacks were "remarkable". Labour knew that doorstep canvassing suggested the SNP's support was increasing, he said. "This area has so many important issues facing it, we're trying to run a positive campaign to explain what we can do to enhance the potential of this area, and the Labour party is reduced to one of the silliest campaigns in byelection history."

Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, said: "As every schoolchild knows, when you're caught out fibbing the best thing to is own up and apologise. Instead the SNP candidate has tried a ridiculous 'a big boy did it and ran away' defence, and tried to blame his staff.

"His mystery leaflet-writer must have been very enthusiastic to produce at least three separate leaflets in two different elections. If he cannot tell you the truth about where he was born – what else is he not telling the truth about?"

Bain, a law lecturer and secretary of the local constituency Labour party, has come under pressure over key part of his campaign: Labour has repeatedly raised knife crime and the cancellation of a new Glasgow airport rail link, but neither issue is controlled by Westminster. Bain has retorted that he has also demanded greater efforts from the UK government to increase employment. Nearly a third of adults in Glasgow North East are on benefits and unemployment is near 7%.

The Guardian