EU referendum: Former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond and Ukip leader Nigel Farage agree to debate
As the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU nears, leader of the UK Independence Party Nigel Farage and former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond have agreed to go head to head in a debate.
The former First Minister of Scotland said he would be "delighted" to take on Farage ahead of the vote, widely expected later this year.
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Speaking to Sky News, Salmond said he would take on Farage or any corner in the anti-European side.
"I don’t know if they’ve quite decided who they’ll be fielding yet and they seem to have spent a lot of time fighting with each other. That’s the sort of folk they are. But yes, of course you debate all comers in a referendum campaign," he said.
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Meanwhile a Ukip spokesperson said Farage would be happy to engage Salmond in a debate, but added that it should be a wider event that includes Scots who want to leave the EU.
"Salmond is trying to frame this as Ukip vs. Scotland, which it isn't. He is setting up a false perspective – that Scotland wants to stay in the EU and only nasty English people want out. This isn't true. There are strong Scottish voices who want out too."