Storm over ‘Caledonian Hitler’ jibe

A POPULAR historian has been condemned for comparing Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond with Adolf Hitler.

Dr David Starkey told an audience convened by centre-right think tank The Bow Group that Mr Salmond is a “Caledonian Hitler”.

According to the Huffington Post website, Mr Starkey said: “If you think about it, Alex Salmond is a democratic Caledonian Hitler, although some would say Hitler was more democratically elected. (For him) the English, like the Jews, are everywhere.”

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Bow Group council member Nic Conner, who attended the event, confirmed the comments, although he maintained that they had been taken out of context.

He said: “Dr Starkey began by questioning some of the myths surrounding Alex Salmond: the political myth that he is one of the greatest political leaders of our time when what he has done is all a trick, tapping into nationalism and the idea of a common enemy, in this case the English.

“He then compared this, somewhat unfortunately, to Hitler.”

Mr Conner said it was a “balanced meeting” with speeches by Shami Chakrabarti, the director of civil rights group Liberty, and Dr Kwasi Kwarteng, the MP for Spelthorne in Surrey.

A spokesman for the First Minister said: “This offensive nonsense is actually an insult to Scotland and to the people of Scotland.

“David Starkey is getting dafter and crankier with every passing day.”