Two officers at arms stand near the Scone Stone at Edinburgh Castle before it was taken to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King Charles III. : Russell Cheyne/PA Wire
Alex Salmond denies he has a fragment of the Scone Stone that a friend gave him, after a former Scottish minister called for the “stolen” piece to be returned.
Scottish cabinet documents from 2008, published this week, reveal that Salmond was given the fragment by Professor Sir Neil McCormick, whose father helped finance the theft of the stone from Westminster Abbey in 1950.
Also known as the Stone Fates, the kings and queens of Scotland were traditionally crowned there. Last May it was temporarily moved back to Westminster Abbey for the king's coronation.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlin, the Scottish secretary who brought the stone back to Scotland, told The Telegraph that the fragment was part of an “important constitutional relic” , owned by the Crown.
He expressed surprise that Mr Salmond, who was First Minister at the time, had seen fit to keep a gift “received as a result of a criminal act”.
Alistair Jack, the current Scottish minister, said the fragment “and any other pieces that were lost” during the theft are to be returned for display at the stone's new home, a museum opening in Perth this spring.
Mr Salmond said the piece was one of hundreds of gifts he received during his seven-and-a-half years as First Minister. Photograph: Robert Perry/PA Wire
But Mr Salmond said he did not have the fragment and could not remember what happened to it, noting it was one of hundreds of gifts he had received in seven years half of his years as First Minister.
Party leader Alba said he believed it was placed in the “Aladdin's Cave” curio cabinet, either at his official residence Bute House or at his government headquarters at St Andrews House.
< p>However, he said that it was so. none of the gifts were sold at a charity auction at the end of his tenure and its current whereabouts remain a mystery.
Mr Salmond said the Scottish Government had given the stone fragment to the late Queen Elizabeth II's coachmaker to her Diamond Jubilee in 2011 to place it in the seat, but he doesn't know if it's the right stone.
For centuries, the 150kg stone was kept in the now ruined Scone Abbey near Perth, where it was used as a residence for the inauguration of the ancient kings of Scotland.
In 1296, King Edward I of England seized it as spoils of the Wars of Independence and placed in the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey. Since then it has been used at the coronation ceremonies of every British monarch.
The stone made headlines at Christmas 1950 when four Scottish nationalist students carried it out of the Abbey, breaking it in half.< /p>
They were financed and advised by John McCormick, who helped found the SNP and was then Chancellor of the University Glasgow. He reportedly gave the students £50 to help them and signed a note confirming the authenticity of the stone.
In 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland with the understanding that it would be moved to Westminster Abbey for future coronations. Photo: Justin Leighton
After being glued back together, it was found three months later at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey.
Lord Michael Forsyth arranged for the stone to be returned to Scotland in 1996, when it was Scottish minister, and it was installed at an exhibition in Edinburgh Castle.
It is scheduled to be returned to Perthshire for the first time in more than 700 years this spring, when it is moved to the new £26.5 million Perth Museum.
But files released by the National Archives of Scotland this week said that Sir Neil, a former SNP MEP, gave the stone fragment to Mr Salmond in 2008. The legal scholar suffered from terminal cancer and died in April 2009.
Lord Forsyth told the Telegraph that the work was “stolen” property and should be “immediately” returned to Historic Environment Scotland. successor to Historic Scotland.
He said: “I cannot imagine how Alex Salmond saw fit to keep a part of a stone obtained as a result of a criminal act as a gift. The fragment is to be displayed in the new museum planned for Perth.”
John Major's Scottish Secretary of State also said it was “extraordinary” that the gift was kept secret and approved by Sir John Elvidge, while currently Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government.
Mr Jack said: “The Scone Stone is an artefact of enormous historical importance.”
“ This fragment and any other parts that were lost at the time it was taken should be placed in the care of the stone's new home, the Perth Museum, which I am proud to announce is being built with £10 million in funding from the UK Government ” /p>
While he did not dispute the accuracy of the cabinet minutes, Mr Salmond said “the story may be much more complicated” than they had suggested.
He said: “I'm not entirely sure Historic Scotland was delighted at the idea of several fragments of the stone coming into official ownership as they completed their own tests of the relic's authenticity, and Sir John Elvidge may have decided that declaring it private property was the most elegant solution.”
However, Mr Salmond claimed he had no recollection of receiving the stone in person. Speaking about the anniversary gift, he said: “Whether it was a McCormick piece or another, I'm not quite sure. What I can say is that I don't own it and it's not under the seat of my car!'
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'The Stone of Destiny is the responsibility of the Regalia Conservation Commissioners.
“The commissioners were informed of the contents of the 2008 Cabinet document. The Scottish Government understands that the Commissioners have simply noted a historic position.”
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