INVERNESS MP Drew Hendry has set the record straight following comments made by former royal butler Paul Burrell.

Mr Burrell, who worked for Princes Diana, angered many Scots on a recent episode of Channel 5’s The Jeremy Vine Show when, during a debate on independence, he said: “I think that the United Kingdom is stronger together than they are apart. I mean, for goodness sake, Scotland, by itself? How’s it going survive? It has – what does it have – oil and a monster in a lake and whisky.”

In the aftermath Mr Hendry was at an event in his capacity as chairman of an all-party Parliamentary group on terminal illness which was also attended by Mr Vine.

He took the opportunity to pass a note to the broadcaster in the form of an impressively lengthy list of notable Scottish facts – including the fact that Loch Ness holds more water than all of the lakes in England and Wales combined.

Mr Vine subsequently tweeted a photograph of the list and said: “After Paul Burrell (Diana’s former butler) offended Scots wanting independence – in fact all Scots – by saying ‘all they have is oil and a monster,’ the impressive @drewhendrySNP good-humouredly passed me this note at a charity event to set the record straight.”

Mr Hendry said: “I knew he was going to be coming to help promote the event. 

“I had a chat with him beforehand. It was a light-hearted good-humoured thing, that I gave him the list.”

He added that he was not particularly offended by Mr Burrell’s comments but wanted to provide the facts.

He said: “It’s a TV programme that is watched by quite a lot of people. People live here know that Scotland is more than how it was portrayed.”

From the Inverness Courier on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.