WHITEFORD ATTENDS ST COMBS MEETING

SNP Westminster candidate for Banff & Buchan Eilidh Whiteford attended tonight's village meeting in St Combs.

The meeting was called following the malicious fire which completely destroyed the village hall at the weekend. Police announced today that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the fire and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

Speaking afterwards, Eilidh Whiteford said:

"Naturally, people are angry and upset about the hall, but there's a strong community spirit in the village and everyone is committed to moving forward from this point.

"It's clear from listening to the concerns raised by residents that more needs to be done to tackle vandalism and anti-social behaviour in the village, including improving police response times to complaints. I'll be raising these issues with the authorities, and doing all I can to support the community in the days and weeks ahead."

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WHITEFORD & WATSON COMMENT ON CULTURE MINISTER'S VISIT TO ROSEHEARTY

SNP Westminster candidate for Banff & Buchan Eilidh Whiteford and local councillor Bob Watson have welcomed the backing of the Minister for Culture Michael Russell for the work of the Pitsligo Castle Trust.

Mr Russell performed the official unveiling of the new display panels detailing the aims of the Trust to consolidate Pitsligo Castle and to create the Peathill Jacobite and Heraldic Centre at a ceremony on Friday.

Councillor Watson has been a strong supporter of the work of the Trust and since becoming a member of the Pitsligo Castle/Peathill Kirk working group, has secured support from Director of Education for Aberdeenshire Bruce Robertson for the project. As a result, Aberdeenshire Council Education Department is now a partner in the initiative, and local schools, e.g., Fraserburgh Academy, Turriff Academy, Rosehearty Primary etc., are coming on board as part of their local history 'curriculum for excellence' agenda.

An Education Department working sub-group has also been formed to report back to Pitsligo Castle/Peathill Kirk working group in December, with their views on how they see the project develop and integrate with the education curriculum. With Councillor Watson's backing, the Trust also received £4750 of funding from Aberdeenshire Council to purchase the display panels unveiled by the Minister.

Commenting after attending Friday's event, Eilidh Whiteford said:

"The Pitsligo Castle Trust are to be congratulated on having made such excellent progress with the Peathill Kirk project.

"The North-east has a rich cultural heritage that deserves to be better known, and it's great to see efforts to transform the old kirk into a centre for education and research about the Jacobite era and Scottish heraldry steadily taking shape."

Local SNP councillor Bob Watson added:

"I am delighted that the Minister was able to accept my invitation to come to Peathill and see for himself the work being done by the Trust.

"This is a very exciting project led by an ambitious and knowledgeable group of volunteers and it is thoroughly deserving of Ministerial support."

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CULTURE MINISTER TO VISIT PORTSOY SALMON BOTHY

Minister for Culture, External Affairs & the Constitution Michael Russell MSP will be visiting Portsoy's historic Salmon Bothy, Links Road, Portsoy AB45 2SS on Friday 23 October at 1.15pm.

Mr Russell has been invited to visit by SNP Westminster candidate for Banff & Buchan Eilidh Whiteford.

Commenting, Eilidh Whiteford said:

"I am delighted that the Minister for Culture has accepted my invitation to visit the Portsoy Salmon Bothy this week.

"The Salmon Bothy is a real asset to the town and is being well used by locals and tourists alike. The exhibition celebrates Banffshire's traditional maritime industries, and some of the community activities going on in the Bothy also reflect that history, such as the boat building 'Faering Project' involving young people. With art, drama, photography and knitting groups, and a thriving folk club there's something for everyone.

"The Salmon Bothy has been supported by a range of funding bodies including the Scottish Government, which is testament to the hard work and commitment of those involved in bringing this project to fruition and I'm pleased the Minister will be able to see this at first hand during his visit."

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LOCAL MP DEMANDS DELIVERY DEADLINE ON EQUITABLE LIFE COMPENSATION

Speaking following an opposition day debate on the UK Government’s role in paying compensation to Equitable Life policyholders, local SNP MP Alex Salmond repeated calls for UK Ministers to accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman.

Mr Salmond believes that a deadline for delivery of a compensation scheme is now needed, following last week's ruling by the High Court that slammed the UK Government's handling of the compensation issue

Commenting, Mr Salmond said:

"The UK Government must stop prevaricating and pay up. This saga has dragged on long enough – with many of my constituents in Banff & Buchan being affected. After ten years what policyholders deserve now is a clear deadline for the delivery of a compensation scheme. It is unacceptable and unfair for Downing Street to let this drag on indefinitely.

"It was a decade of regulatory failure that led to this mess, and we have had a decade of dither in dealing with it ever since. It is disgraceful that policyholders have had to go through so much. Thousands of policyholders have died since this process began, and many surviving policyholders are still being denied justice.

"UK Ministers must finally accept their responsibilities and bring forward a scheme to compensate all those who have suffered through the UK Government's regulatory failures."

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