Scotland’s first minister Alex Salmond has blasted Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott over his comments on the Scottish independence campaign, calling them “ludicrous” and “bewildering”.
Abbott had earlier intervened in the independence debate, saying it was "hard to see how the world would be helped by an independent Scotland" and that “the people who would like to see the break-up of the United Kingdom are not the friends of justice, the friends of freedom… not the countries whose company one would like to keep."
Salmond responded to Abbott’s comments stating the "notoriously gaffe-prone" Prime Minister had "put his foot right in it", adding,
"Mr Abbott's comments are hypocritical because independence does not seem to have done Australia any harm”.
Salmond went on to add Abbott’s comments were "offensive to the Scottish people", saying,
"They are foolish, actually, because of the way he said it. To say the people of Scotland who supported independence weren't friends of freedom or justice, I mean, the independence process is about freedom and justice."
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