Nicola Sturgeon has been drawn into a row over tickets to the Queen’s funeral after opposition politicians claimed they were left off a Scottish Government list.
The Scottish Tories’ leader Douglas Ross was forced to make a plea for a space at Her Majesty’s final farewell, for himself and his Labour and Lib Dem counterparts, according to several government sources. The Scottish Government was allocated about 40 spaces for the royal send-off last Monday but rival politicians claim they were initially snubbed for tickets.
The anomaly came to light when politicians from across the UK went to a reception as the Queen lay in state. One Westminster politician who was at the reception said: “Douglas Ross was speaking to several people, including a Northern Irish politician and the leader of the Conservatives in Wales, and discovered they were both attending the Queen’s funeral.
"I think he was quite confused why Scotland would be the only devolved nation where the opposition leaders weren’t going, as none of them had been invited at that point. The only one going was Nicola Sturgeon.”
Ross contacted the Scottish Government’s permanent secretary, JP Marks, the next day to ask why opposition leaders in Scotland had not been asked to attend.
A source told the Sunday Mail: “Douglas questioned why Scotland would be the only part of the UK where opposition leaders weren’t invited. About an hour after he contacted JP Marks, the invites went out.”
A spokesman for Ross said he contacted Marks prior to the invitations being sent to opposition leaders.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said he had inquired about the distribution of tickets with senior Scottish Parliament officials and was told Sturgeon had received an allocation.
He said: “It was confirmed to me that there were about 40 tickets given to the Scottish Government and it was up to Nicola to distribute them.”
A Welsh government spokeswoman confirmed the Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford received a funeral invitation and tickets, which he gave to other party leaders.
A Government spokesman said: “The FirstMinister had no role in deciding who should be invited to the state funeral. Invitations were issued by the Lord Chamberlain’s office.
“When it became clear that opposition party leaders in Scotland had not been invited, the Scottish Government drew this to the attention of the Lord Chamberlain’s office who issued invitations.”
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