SHATTERED pals of tragic suicide schoolboy Matt Lochrie told last night of their heartache.

Grief-stricken Matt, 14, took his own life at the family home just two days after his beloved grandad Jimmy, 77, died in hospital.

The tragedy rocked the town of Galashiels, Roxburghshire, where the popular lad was known for his mischievous smile.

Shattered friends flooded the internet with emotional tributes to Matt, while a YouTube page in his honour had attracted more than 15,000 hits.

Jane Allida Scott wrote on Facebook: “There will always be a special place in my heart for you. “Don’t think I ever saw you without that cheeky wee grin. Don’t stop smiling.”

Meghan Callaghan, said: “I saw a new star gleaming and smiled cause I knew it was you, shining down on us from heaven.”

On YouTube, Ben Hodges added: “I’m gonna miss you soooo much.”

Several pals also changed their Facebook profile pictures to say ‘Matt Lochrie Never Forget’ in tribute to the teen.

Cops were called to the home Matt shared with parents Jackie, 43, and John, 48, and brother Brad, 17, at 8.20am on Sunday. It is understood he hanged himself.

Tragically, death notices for Matt and grandad Jimmy were later carried next to each other in the local paper. Matt was described as a “devoted grandson”, while Jimmy was said to have died “peacefully at Borders General Hospital”.

Sporty Matt, a third-year pupil at Galashiels Academy, was a huge rugby fan who played for his school and Gala Red Triangle — and starred at football and cricket.

Last night his headteacher Kenny McKay said: “Matt was an enthusiastic and popular boy. Galashiels Academy has Matt and his family in their thoughts, and offer sincere condolences at this terrible loss.”

Gala Cricket Club Captain Stephen Halls said: “The under-13s coach remembers Matt’s grandad frequently coming to watch him play. His grandfather wasn’t keeping good health, but he would still come along.”

Gala Red Triangle secretary Scott Mitchell, added: “The club offer their deepest sympathy.”

Ian Miller, Gala RFC’s youth development officer, said: “He was a really nice kid, a cheeky chappie. He’ll be sadly missed.”

Borders Council said it was offering pupils counselling.

Last night a Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “We attended at an address in Galashiels on Sunday after the body of a 14-year-old boy was discovered. There are believed to be no suspicious circumstances.”

DO you need help? Contact the Samaritans on 08457 909 090 or visit www.samaritans.org

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Hate posts in police probe

COPS were called in to probe abusive remarks posted on Matt’s online tribute page.

The comments, since removed, sparked fury from his pals.

One stormed: “I think you should really think about what you write on Facebook.”

Lothian and Borders Police said: “Officers are investigating a report that offensive messages were posted on Facebook.”

HERE’S furry bad news for panda fans — one of Scotland’s giant bears has been floored by COLIC.

Sunshine, the male half of Edinburgh Zoo’s prize exhibits, is likely to be out of the public eye for a week until he recovers. His indoor enclosure at the site has been closed.

Iain Valentine, the zoo’s director of conservation, said: “Sunshine is not on show as he has colic. He’s on medication to relieve this and we’re keeping him relaxed and indoors, so he may not always be on show over the next week or so.

“Our colleagues in China assure us that this isn’t uncommon in pandas.”

While Sunshine — Yang Guang in Chinese — battles on, partner Sweetie — Tian Tian — will be out in public as normal.

Pandas can suffer a number of illnesses, including epilepsy, pneumonia and flu.

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Paws for concern… Paws for concern… Sunshine won’t be seen by public till he recovers

A TEACHER who was struck off for emailing information about an exam to pupils at the Scottish school attended by Prince Charles has been allowed back into the classroom.

Eric Tessier-Lavigne sent pupils at £27,000-a-year Gordonstoun emails telling them what would be in their oral French exam.

The 51-year-old included phrases such as “destroy after reading” and “for your eyes and ears only” in messages to 11 pupils at the boarding school in Elgin, Moray.

He was banned from teaching in April 2010 for calling in to question the “probity of the examination system” but yesterday the General Teaching Council Scotland decided “unanimously” that Mr Tessier-Lavigne should be allowed to return to the profession.

At a hearing in Edinburgh, John Telford, convenor of the disciplinary sub-committee, said: “[We] did not find it was appropriate to remove Mr Tessier-Lavigne from the register.”

Mr Telford said they accepted evidence from the teacher and felt he had reflected on his actions. They had received five references on behalf of the teacher, including one from the depute head of nearby Nairn Academy.

“The sub-committee felt he had showed a commitment to the teaching profession,” said Mr Telford.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Tessier-Lavigne said: “I am delighted.

“I look forward to moving on and getting back in the classroom in Scotland.”

Mr Tessier-Lavigne was suspended from his £26,000-a-year job at the school, where he taught GCSE and A Level French.

No-one was available for comment at Gordonstoun.

A TEACHER kept quiet while a council continued to pay her salary for two and a half years after she had resigned.

Bernadine Hunter left her Glasgow City Council school in 2006, but continued to receive salary payments totalling just under £100,000.

Mrs Hunter’s failure to report the payments landed her before a disciplinary panel of the General Teaching Council Scotland yesterday.

She admitted that, between October 26, 2006 and April 23, 2009, while a teacher with South Lanarkshire Council, she received salary payments worth £99,907.15 from Glasgow City Council, even though she left her job there in September 2006. But Mrs Hunter, 46, who could have been struck off, was left unpunished after the panel heard evidence of her dif-ficult circumstances.

It was also said by the panel that the money appeared to have been kept by her husband.

The hearing was told that Mrs Hunter worked at St Francis Primary School before moving to Coalburn Primary School in South Lanarkshire.

It was not until April 2009 that Glasgow realised it was still paying her and stopped the payments.

During the hearing in Edinburgh, Mrs Hunter said she had paid back around half the money, adding: “I was absolutely terrified. I just wanted the payments to stop.”

Mrs Hunter’s lawyer, Andrew Gibb, urged the committee not to strike her off the register, describing it as an “unusual and distressing” case.

He also said Glasgow City Council must take some of the responsibility.

“I find it completely astonishing the fact that a local authority can pay someone for two and a half years without them working for them,” he said. “If they had done their jobs properly, this would not have happened.” The head teacher of Coalburn, William Scott said: “She was very good and very professional.”

He talked about Mrs Hunter’s husband, from whom she is now separated, who was said to have displayed “strange” behaviour. “Mr Hunter visited the school regularly,” said Mr Scott, “occasionally to work with the children, but often he popped in just because he was passing.

I thought this was unusual.

“He would call several times a day, it was certainly strange. Mrs Hunter seemed embarrassed.”

The panel concluded that Mrs Hunter was vulnerable due to the “duress of her personal circumstances”.

They said this was a “powerful mitigating factor” and added that Glasgow City Council’s conduct was “difficult to understand”.

“The circumstances might not have arisen and any sums involved might have been considerably less had this not happened,” they said.

They also accepted the teacher had not personally benefited from the money “which appeared to have been retained by her husband”.

She had repaid a “substantial” amount and continued to do so.

They concluded that “no order was the appropriate and proportionate disposal in the particular circumstances”.’I was absolutely terrified. I just wanted the payments to stop’

East Lothian Council also spent more than £26,000 to the makers of Irn Bru, A.G.Barr and nearly £7000 to brewer Heineken.

The council, who face budget cuts of 14% over the next three years, also paid out more than £5,000 to Starbucks Coffee Company and £14,204 to four local golf clubs.

Figures show that council spends on goods and services from April 2010 to March 2011 amount to £108 million.

A third of the council’s budget during this period went towards construction costs and more than 20% on social community care, but only 23% of the money was spent in East Lothian.

York Racecource received £11,600 from the council under “arts and leisure organised activity”.

Matthew Elliot , Chief Executive of the Tax Payer’s Alliance, today slammed the council for its spending decisions.

He said: “East Lothian Council have to make savings, they can’t afford to blow taxpayers money on racecourses and Starbucks. The council should reign in its spending on hospitality and fancy drinks events.

“Taxpayers have seen their councils tax bills nearly double in the last decade and now it’s clear where too much of that cash has been going, skinny lattés and Irn Bru,” he added.

Other high council spends made during the 2010/11 financial year include £217,358 on postage, £24,442 on seeds and plants and £61,832 on laundries and launderettes.

Figures

Home help services in East Lothian were axed as part of the council’s service cuts within its 2010/11 budget.

Taxpayers also saw an increased charge for burial, adult education, industrial rents, school meals and trade waste under a raft of cuts brought in by the council’s SNP/Lib Dem administration.

A spokeswoman for East Lothian Council defended the council’s spending, explaining that figures did not take into account money recouped from the companies by the council.

She said: “Money spent on York Racecourse came from Musselburgh Racecourse as they do reciprocal visits. Musselburgh Racecourse are responsible for their own funding, so the trip was self-financed and paid for by the racecourse itself.

“Starbucks is in the staff canteen and money is paid out by the council in advance and then recouped by staff buying coffee, it is run in the same way as any other Starbucks in the country.

“Barr provide Findlays mineral water to schools, as well as council buildings,” she added.

Figures on East Lothian Council’s spending are available to the public through a new internet service website.

The spotlightonspend site make figures on 720 public sector bodies nationwide available online.

East Lothian council leader, Paul McLennan, said signing up to the service was part of the council’s commitment to being more “open and accessible.”

He added “This key financial information has now been made easier to access and to interpret, and I am sure that our involvement in Spotlightonspend will be viewed as a welcome development by our council tax-payers.”

A MAN of 95 died after suffering severe burns when he fell on to a heated towel rail as he got out of the bath.

John Brown’s wife Isa was too frail to pull him clear.

He was taken to the burns unit at St John’s Hospital, Livingston, West Lothian.

It’s understood he was responding to treatment for his injuries but contracted pneumonia and died.

Granddaughter Jennifer Brown, 21, said yesterday that World War II veteran John was fit and healthy and still went dancing several times a week.

She added: “I was very close to him and will miss him a lot.”

John’s family also paid tribute to the “caring” medical staff who looked after him following the accident at his home in Newhaven, Edinburgh.

A neighbour, who declined to be named, said: “I can’t believe it. I just saw him last week. It is really sad.

“They were a very pleasant couple and did everything together.

“They were always walking hand in hand and stopped to say hello.”

According to the death notice John, who had four sons, died “surrounded by his family” on December 23.

His funeral will be held at Edinburgh’s Warriston Crematorium on Friday.

A NURSE regularly let an elderly care home resident put his hand down her top and touch her bottom, a disciplinary hearing was told yesterday. Badarmaine Garnett, 67, was seen allowing the OAP to fondle her, a panel of the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Care assistant Cindy Fretwell said in a statement: “She wouldn’t do anything to stop him.”

Garnett is also accused of undressing a patient in front of other residents, threatening a worker and sleeping on duty.

Stupid She also allegedly let care assistants administer medication at the Sunnybank Care Home in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, where she worked for three months in 2008.

The NMC’s barrister Cassandra Scarborough said another assistant, Nicola Emslie, claimed Garnett also told a patient to “bugger off and put his pyjamas on backwards”.

If found guilty Garnett, who denies all the charges, faces being struck off. The hearing in Edinburgh, continues.

A TALENTED and inspirational student has died after being hit by a train on New Year’s Day.

Cambridge University undergraduate Calum Burt was struck by a freight service near to Longannet Power Station in Fife.

The 20-year-old, who was an accomplished violinist, was described by friends as an “inspiration” and a “great example of youth”.

It is thought that Mr Burt was home from university for the Christmas holidays at the time of the accident.

He is believed to have been struck by the train at around 10am as it sped through his home village of Culross.

Mr Burt was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

British Transport Police (BTP) are investigating, but believe there to be no suspicious circumstances. It is understood the incident is being treated as a tragic accident.

One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: “We heard it was a train driver coming back who saw him. The police came flying through with flashing lights.”

Mr Burt was in his second year of a natural sciences degree at Churchill College, Cambridge University. He was due to graduate in 2014.

A former Dollar Academy pupil, Mr Burt won school prizes for physics and maths during his final year.

The promising student listed some of his favourite bands on Facebook as The Smiths, The Doors and Oasis.

Richard Partington, a senior tutor at Cambridge University, described Mr Burt as a “wonderful person”.

He said: “Churchill College was shocked and devastated to learn that Mr Calum Burt, a second-year undergraduate natural scientist, had been tragically killed on New Year’s Day.

“Calum was a wonderful person, happy, full of life, focused and immensely talented, with a great future ahead of him. He will be terribly missed and our sincerest sympathies go to his family and friends at this dreadful time.

“We will be memorialising Calum in college in due course.”

Tributes to Mr Burt were made by his friends on social network site Twitter.

Jodie Muirhead wrote: “Thoughts are with the friends and family of Calum Burt. What an inspiration and a great example of our youth. You will be sadly missed.”

Kirsten McIntyre said: “Absolutely shocked and upset beyond belief that one of the guys in my year at school was killed yesterday. RIP Calum Burt.”

The train which struck Mr Burt was the 0900 Inverkeithing to Moss End service.

A BTP spokesman said: “BTP officers were called to the line to Longannet Power Station on Sunday January 1 following the report of a man being struck by a train.

“BTP and Fife Constabulary officers attended the incident which was reported to police at 10.23am and it is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

“Paramedics also attended but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.”

After local voters had their say on May 6, Eilidh Whiteford of SNP won the seat with a decisive 41.3% of the vote, putting Conservative candidate Jimmy Buchan in second place with 30.8% and Glen Reynolds of Labour into third with 14%.

The results saw a swing of 10.7% of voters switching allegance from SNP to Conservative and over 1000 voters opting to mark their cross next to the BNP candidate Richard Payne, who was standing for the first time.
The Liberal Democrat candidate Galen Milne came in fourth place with 11.3% of the overall votes.

Voting turnout in the constituency was a respectable 59.8% percent, up 3.2% from 2005. The consensous at polling stations in Peterhead was that there had been a steady stream of voters throughout the day, with numbers increasing into the evening.

The SNP secured 20% of the vote in Scotland, its largest to date at a General Election, but failed to win its’ targetted 20 seats. First Minister Alex Salmond said during campaigning that a hung parliament, where no single party wins a Commons majority, could provide an “opportunity” for change.

Though gaining the largest number of UK seats, the Tory party failed to make an impression in Scotland, with just one Conservative MP being elected, David Mundell, who held on to his seat of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

Speaking to the Buchan Observer hours after the results were announced, Miss Whiteford said she was excited to be taking over from long-standing MP Alex Salmond and to be representing Banff and Buchan down at Westminster.

She said: “It is a huge priviledge to be elected in an area where you live and grew up. I have a lot to prove but am excited too.

“We were working hard in the last few week of campaigning and I found it to be a positive experience. The SNP did feel squeezed out of media coverage, but in the end I know that people can think for themselves when it comes to choosing who to vote for.

“I would like to thank the people who voted for me and I want to reasure all people, whether they voted for me or not that I will represent the communities of Banff and Buchan to ensure it thrives as much as possible.”

Miss Whiteford explained that top issues on her agenda would be fuel prices, creating new jobs and the growing needs of pensioners.

She said: “One big concern for constituents has been fuel prices, and in paticular for commuters and people living in rural areas. Why should there be a stealth tax for people who live and work in rural areas? It’s ironic when you think where the oil comes from.

“Another issue which has come up while I’ve been campaigning has been the fact that pensioners have really been struggling, folk thought they had saved for retirement and then they are having to deal with looking public sector costs in the face.

“We also need to look at creating more jobs. Here we are really well placed, this area has huge human resources possibilities.”

On the campaign trail, Miss Whiteford said she had been heartened when she spoke to people in fishing communities and that she felt the SNP had been very consistent in putting forward the best deals they could, she added: “at least you can never fault the SNP for trying.”

“The farmers are also looking at a lot of reform -there are challenges for them. The UK parties are being very evasive on what they will do. The Torys have said very little on that subject. The SNP however has been very clear and we need to make sure we are managing our land in a suitable way.”

As the final election results were un-clear at the time of interview, Miss Whiteford said that regardless of which UK party was elected it would be her duty to represent Scotland and to work to protect Scottish services and the needs of the community.

She said: “All the UK parties will make cuts to Scottish public services. It was dissapointing that the SNP were not able to make more of a breakthrough in the way we had hoped at this election, but voting was up for the SNP so we were happy with that.

“It wasn’t the day for change, there was hardly any change at all in Scotland, it has been a very static election.”

Although the Labour party managed to re-elect all of its Scottish MP’s, it still suffered a disapointing result in the General Election which saw vast amounts of the population “vote for change” and switch allegance to David Cameron’s Conservative party.

Scottish Labour candidate, Glen Reynolds, said his party had played a “significant role” in altering the results of the Banff and Buchan seat, claiming the SNP are becomming increasingly vulnerable as the party’s majority fell from around 12,000 in 2005 to just over 4000 votes at this election.

Of the overall election result he said it was a matter of “who will jump into bed with who” in order to form a coalition government.

He said: “We have seen a significantly better outcome this year and have played a leading role in altering the voting outcome for the SNP. The bigger picture here is that the SNP are increasingly vulnerable now as a result of this.”

Mr Reynolds claimed that it was too early to predict the overall general election result and that all the parties would be feeling disappointed, especially a “staggering” result for the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg’s leadership.

Commenting on the uncertainty, he said: “It is too soon to tell what will happen with regards to the overall result. All parties will have been significantly disappointed, I am sure of that, especially the Lib Dems who had a staggeringly disappointing outcome.

“It is quite clear that parties are going to look towards forming a coalition governement which will be good for the British nation, but regarding who is going to jump into bed with who, well it is too early to say.

“Electoral reform is a key factor coming from this election and my own view is that a progressive left – centre partnership with Labour and the Lib Dems would be the way forward. What I don’t want to see is a shift back to the dark days of centre – right politics.

He added: “Conservatives won’t in any way take on the reform that the Lib Dems are holding out for. In the past, deals were done in order to secure cabinet positions for minority parties. Lib Dems will hold out for electoral reform which will hopefully take Britain forward.”

Of the 5, 382 votes Scottish Labour secured in order to achieve third place, Mr Reynolds said: “We had a dream that 5000 votes would be beyond our wildest expectations, and we managed to achieve more than that in the Banff and Buchan constituency. However, we are still talking about a huge majority of votes that have been slashed.

“One of the things that is quite clear now is that we could see Banff and Buchan as potentially a very different political landscape from what there has been in the past.”

Galen Milne of Scottish Liberal Democrats said he was dissapointed by his party’s 11.3% share of the Banff and Buchan vote, which was down 2% from the 2005 general election, but that he had been encouraged by local people’s support on the campaign trail.

He said: “Naturally I was disapointed in how the party performed both locally and in the national vote, but I do feel that the Lib Dem core supporters held up in Banff and Buchan.

“I found the Lib Dem message of change and fair-play was welcomed by local people, despite not translating into votes, and we will continue to build on that support.

Mr Milne said it was clear that there will be a hung parliament in the UK and that he hoped the “out-dated” First Past The Post would be reformed to a fairer system, similar to that of the current voting system in Scotland.

He added: “It is clear now that Scotland has rejected the SNP and that Mr Salmond’s balloon is beginning to deflate. I am feeling very positive about the Lib Dems and Nick Cleggs leadership, which I think really appeals to voters.”

First elected in 1987, Alex Salmond has gone from Banff and Buchan MP to the fourth First Minster of Scotland, ending eight years of Labour rule.

Asked what he thought were among his greatest achievements during his time as MP, Mr Salmond had no hesitation in saying it was putting the North-east corner on the map.

“I think it is easy for those in London, or even in Edinburgh, to forget about the bits up north and in the past 23 years Buchan has been spoken and talked about than at anytime previously.” he said.

“One major achievement was seeing Peterhead being identified as one of the ports and harbours for renewable expansion. There have been long running issues and campaigns to prepare the area for the best opportunity for its natural assets.

“Another thing was the Hatton Bends. I was getting driven into Peterhead last week and we were coming up to the bends – well now the Hatton straight – and I was trying to explain to the driver, you know these were pretty vicious bends. He said what bends?

“We’ve also been engaged in so many local campaigns over the years, a lot of them have been incredibly successful, some not, but then that’s the way of things. It’s always better to have a go than to accept things – that’s kind of my philosophy.”
Asked whether he saw it as a failure that the SNP had not managed to secure a dual carriageway from Peterhead to Aberdeen, he replied: “I would still love to see the entire route dualled from Aberdeen to Peterhead, but we are still going to be better off in terms of transport links than we have been and that’s a good thing,” he said.

“People say why does the dual carriage way to Ellon help Peterhead? Well of course it is absolutely critical for Peterhead. The peripheral route to Aberdeen is obviously very important to Aberdeen, but it’s actually more important to the communities north of Aberdeen, in terms of links to the rest of the country.

“So we will be in a situation when Balmeddie is eventually dualled and when the peripheral route comes in where you should be able to get from Peterhead to Aberdeen airport in around 30 minutes and go round Aberdeen instead of getting stuck in traffic. It’s going to be of huge importance to transport.

“And you have to remember that it takes time for plans to come to fruition. My first letter about the Hatton Bends was in 1990 and the bends were finally straightened out in 2007.”
Mr Salmond also highlighted the battle to keep Peterhead Prison open, and its subsequent success, was also high on the achievements of the SNP.

“This week also marks the ten-year anniversary of the decision by the then justice minister, Jim Wallace, to close Peterhead Prison and yet in a few weeks time the plans for the new prison will finally be published,” he said.

“Because of the work of the people involved, Peterhead Prison became one of the most successful prisons in the country and the work it was doing was extraordinary and groundbreaking. However, because of the uncertainty because of Jim Wallace and previous administration wishing to close it, it made it extremely difficult to sustain the workforce.”

Mr Salmond told a story of bumping into an ex-Peterhead prison worker who had moved to Edinburgh and become a social worker because he felt the prison service was not offering him stable employment.

He continued: “The uncertainty over the prison did a lot to damage the morale of the prison, however now that uncertainty will be over and people will be able to plan for their future careers.

“But of course, not everything works out the way you want it. We lost RAF Buchan – that was a loss – but it’s always worth a go.

“Back in 1987 when people voted for me it was because they wanted someone who could articulate their cause. Some people didn’t always agree with everything that I said – but they still wanted me to get up and say it.”

It’s certainly the case that Mr Salmond has never been shy of confrontation, having caused upset early on in his political career when he was thrown out of the House of Commons chamber in March 1988 for interrupting the Budget speech in protest at cuts in income tax rates and the introduction of the poll tax.
The interruption landed him a seven-day ban from the House and a slating from the local press but resulted in hundreds of letters of support coming into his constituency office.

“The only bad thing about the incident was that I was due to be going for dinner with the speaker at the time, who later told me that I would have been sitting next to Princess Diana,” he said.

“The newspapers were giving me such a hard time about it all whereas I got nothing but letters of support from constituents.”

Recently Mr Salmond has courted controversy yet again when he slammed plans for a series of televised debates in the run-up to the General Election, which would exclude the SNP and other minority parties in the UK from taking part.

He said that broadcasters, including the BBC, should be ashamed of themselves for excluding the party that forms the government of Scotland.

“I’m not saying I want to be a part of the whole debate, but give me a chance to ask a few questions – I’m good at that anyway!” he said.

Mr Salmond further criticised the proposed lay-out of the show, which he claimed would dis-allow audience participation, instead allowing only select questions to be asked and with no audience debate.

He continued: “I think they should do a panel of the Green Party, ourselves, etc, who are able to ask questions and hold them to account, they are just terrified of someone tripping them up.”

Hoping to step into the void when Mr Salmond finally stands down as MP is Prospective Westminster candidate for Banff and Buchan, Eilidh Whiteford.

Miss Whiteford first met Mr Salmond when she interviewed him for her school magazine as an 18-year-old sixth year studies student. She then campaigned with the local branch of SNP in the run-up to Mr Salmond’s 1987 victory.

She told the Buchanie that if elected, she hoped to restore people’s confidence in politics, to do the job with integrity and shake up the political culture of the old-boys club.

She said: “It is stepping into big shoes as Alex has been an extraordinary MP for the area, but I worked in the charity sector and have a lot of experience in championing local issues.

“People had encouraged me to stand for the candidacy, given that I am local and that I have been at the other side of the fence putting pressure on MP’s over various issues, and it just seemed like the right time to throw my hat into the ring.

“I remember working abroad and people asking me questions about Scotland and Scottish politics, it made me realise we are not invisible.”

Mr Salmond added: “If you look back at some of the campaigns we have been involved with over the years, strong women will have always been involved, so to have a strong local woman as candidate for Banff and Buchan is just fantastic.”

When asked about a possible upset in the constituency with well-known face Jimmy Buchan running for nearest challengers the Conservatives, Mr Salmond replied: “People say it is about the personality. They said when I stepped down as MSP for Banff and Buchan that it was all about me but then Stewart Stevenson won with an even bigger majority.

“What has happened in this area is a sea of change where the Tories have gone down and the SNP has gone up.

“Jimmy Buchan is a good fisherman but I think he is ruining himself by going into politics. The Tory party has said that it will cut public spending while the country is in a recession, so what does he think will happen? Does he not think they will cut spending in the fishing industry too?

“The Conservatives are offering change but we don’t know what that change is. The last time they offered change it hit people hard.

“People are not just going to back to a world of cuts and anti-Scottish discrimination. Do they think if you put on the smiling face of David Cameron then people will forget?. I think it will take a long, long time.”

Turning to more local issues, Miss Whiteford was challenged on the future of Peterhead and the worries of many residents that their town was in decline.

She said: “I think all over the country town centres have taken a bit of a back step, but the bottom line there is that you use your shops or you lose them and if people choose to go to the big supermarkets on the outskirts of town then there’s not going to be smaller shops.

“I think some of the things that the SNP have been doing to boost small shops have been very important, like the small business bonus scheme. Shopkeepers have told me that’s been a lifeline for them over the past two-years during the recession.

“So government can do all that but at the end of the day people have to recognise what they value in their local shops. If they want and they need to keep them.”

As one of the most contentious planning applications in Peterhead’s history, Buchan CHP’s recent bid to build a waste-to-energy plant on the outskirts of Peterhead stirred an enormous public reaction and was eventually thrown out by councillors.

Mr Salmond said he felt the full council made the right decision in voting 49-13 against the development, adding: ”It was a case of whether it was in the right location and in my mind it was always clear it was in the wrong place. The right decision was made and the councillors have got a lot more sense than some people thought they did.

“But there is a difference between arguing quite legitimately that areas near residential properties are not necessarily the best for developments, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t any place for these developments.”

As well as being MP for Banff and Buchan, Mr Salmond is MSP for Gordon, but was quick to point out the dual mandate does not mean he benefits from a dual salary.

He said: “It’s not something I talk about a lot in the press because it’s not used as publicity – that’s not the purpose, but I said in 2005 that I would serve my full term even if I was elected MSP and it annoys me when I read in the press I have two salaries – I don’t as my wage for MP goes straight into the Mary Salmond Trust.”

The Mary Salmond Trust was set up by Mr Salmond in 2007 to provide funding for local groups in the Aberdeenshire area and is managed by a group of trustees.

“There is still funding available so I would encourage people to apply. The only stipulation is that if any Girl Guides ask for the funding they get it, as my mum was a keen Guide leader!” he joked.

Mr Salmond told the Buchanie his most emotional time as MP came in 1997 during the battle to raise the trawler Sapphire, which had sunk 12-miles off Peterhead with the loss of four crew.

The Labour government at Westminster’s refusal to pay to finance the recovery of the bodies of the fishermen led to the families of the men beginning an appeal to raise the £500,000 required.

Mr Salmond said: “Raising the Sapphire has been the most emotional issue for me. It was very raw and not a unanimous vote in the community.

“I remember we held an emotionally-charged press conference at Peterhead’s Palace hotel where one journalist asked ‘what are you going to do if you cant get all the bodies?’ Well, you could of heard a pin drop.

“One of the family members replied ‘If we uncover just one body it will be a success,’. That was about the most emotional moment I can remember.

“In the end all four of the bodies were recovered and I went to all of the funerals and that was when I realised we had done the right thing,” he added.