East Lothian MP says UK Government can't tell the difference between East Lothian and Caithness

The UK Government can't tell the difference between East Lothian and Caithness, according to former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

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In a letter to the East Lothian Alba MP, Treasury minister Helen Whately refers to the benefits which the Beatrice offshore wind project has brought to his constituency.

But Beatrice is off Caithness – and Mr MacAskill believes she has mixed up Wick and Innerwick.

Sheep graze on the fields next to the ruins of Innerwick Castle, overlooked by Torness nuclear power station. Photo: Andrew Stuart/BOYLE.

He had been seeking talks with Treasury ministers to press for more benefit for local communities from offshore wind coming ashore in East Lothian.

Ms Whately said her "exceptionally busy diary" meant she could not meet him.

But in her letter of refusal she said: "As you know, Scotland has a very rich industrial heritage and is already seeing the benefits of the renewable energy transition, including in your constituency of East Lothian which has been revitalised by the development of the Beatrice offshore wind project. As more projects are developed north of the border, we expect similar benefits to be realised for other harbours."

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The harbour at Wick. Picture: Rob Atherton.

Mr MacAskill said he was disappointed his request for a meeting had been rejected, but added the minister's reply was "arrant nonsense".

"Where are the benefits from Beatrice for East Lothian?” he asked. “It's located off Wick not Innerwick. I can't think of any benefit that’s accrued to East Lothian from Beatrice."

In 2016, when the Beatrice project was being established, Wick harbour was awarded a contract for the assembly and transport of the wind turbines.

The wind farm was opened by Prince Charles in Wick three years later amid much talk of the "significant positive impact" it had already made to the Caithness community. The energy from Beatrice comes ashore on the Moray coast and then proceeds to a substation at Blackhillock.

Meanwhile, East Lothian is due to be the landing point for two North Sea offshore wind projects.

A sub-station is planned at the site of the Cockenzie power station for energy coming ashore from the Inch Cape wind farm off the Angus coast.

And energy from the Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind farm project 10 miles off the Fife coast will be brought ashore at Thorntonloch, near Torness.

Mr MacAskill has argued East Lothian should benefit from providing the crucial locations but says there is a “legislative gap” which means at the moment any community gain is left to the benevolence of the energy companies.

He wants an arrangement put in place to allow local authorities in the area where the energy is being brought ashore to benefit in the way Shetland famously did from North Sea oil and gas.

But he has received little encouragement from the government.

He said: "They don't even know the geography of Scotland. How can we expect to benefit from offshore wind when they don’t even know what's where?"

Wick is the historic county town of Caithness, 14 miles south of John o' Groats. It is a fishing port and has a sheriff court, a glass factory and an airport.

Innerwick is a village five miles inland from Dunbar and about 32 miles from Edinburgh. It has a school, an outdoor education centre and a ruined castle.

Read more: Kenny MacAskill calls for more control over Scotland's ports

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