Scotland Office UK Ministers spend twice as much time meeting media as they did with Scottish energy companies

EXCLUSIVE by Scottish Energy News

The British government minister for Scotland and his deputy held a number of meetings with senior figures from the UK and Scottish energy industries, according to the latest data from the Scotland Office.

David Mundell, MP and/or his then deputy Lord Andrew Dunlop – in a series of meetings from Oct-December 2016 met with; –

• Perth-based Kilmac Energy to discuss renewables in Scotland
• Petro-INEOS to discuss the Grangemouth refinery
• Scottish Power to discuss the energy sector in Scotland
• The Oil and Gas Technology Centre in Aberdeen
• The IMES Group and Oil and Gas UK, both in Aberdeen
• The Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank and Scottish Renewables.

In contrast, the number of meetings held by the Mundell and Dunlop to discuss Scottish energy matters is more than twice out-numbered by the number of meetings they held with the following London and/or Scottish-based media to discuss ‘broadcasting and/or constitutional affairs’ over the same period: – 

• Laura Kuenssberg, Political Editor (BBC London)
• Daily Telegraph (twice; names not provided)
• Ken MacQuarrie, Director (BBC Scotland)
• Murray Foote, Editor (Daily Record)
• Graeme Smith, Acting Editor-in-Chief (The Herald)
• The (London) Times (names not provided)
• Garry Gibbon, Channel 4 News Political Editor
• Brian Taylor, Political Editor (BBC Scotland)
• Magnus Llewellin, Scottish Editor, The Times

In addition to these meetings, the following media organisations also bought lunches for Mundell and/or Dunlop in the last three months of 2016:

• Jason Allerdyce, Scotland Editor (Sunday Times)
• Kevin Schofield, Editor (Politics Home) & Daily Mail
• Allan Rennie, Editor-in-Chief (Media Scotland = Daily Record, Sunday Mail)
• The Times & BBC (names not provided)
• Daily Mail & Guardian (names not provided)
• David Dinsmore (News UK) <The Sun>