On the contrary, he consoled a distressed English fan. There are some politicians who cheer England's tormentors - <Person>, the Secretary of State for Defence, for instance - but <Person> is not among them. "I've tried to fashion a Scottish independence movement that threatens no one in Scotland. This has been by leadership project more than anything else.

"The interesting thing is that I'm certain anti-English feeling is on the decline in Scotland in a very strong way. It last peaked because of the poll tax. I'm not saying there is no anti-English feeling in Scotland - of course there is. But as Scotland approaches independence, one of the things I hope will go is our chip on the shoulder about the English. I think the <Organization> has a huge responsibility to articulate Scottish independence in a way that is pro-Scottish and not anti-English.