A SINGING spaceman and the chairman of a Spanish energy company were among those who received gifts from Alex Salmond in his last year in office.
Government papers obtained under Freedom of Information rules detail the list of financial power brokers, ambassadors, academics, TV stars, caddies and taxi drivers given presents by the outgoing First Minister.
Mr Salmond, who will be replaced as SNP leader by Nicola Sturgeon next month, was joined in his generosity by some of his ministers.
Paid for by the taxpayer, mementoes handed out at events such as the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games included ties, Robert Burns books and cuddly Clyde mascot toys.
The papers show 354 items was given out by SNP ministers last year - almost all of them by the First Minister - at a cost of £6,904 to the taxpayer.
Mr Salmond's single most expensive gift - a pair of £120 Malcolm Appleby cufflinks - was reserved for Ignacio Galan, the chairman of Spanish energy firm Iberdrola, whose wife received a luxury Beggs scarf costing £63.20.
Over the course of 2013-14, pocket Robert Burns books costing £9.50 were the most popular present, with 69 given out, along with 33 limited-edition quaichs, 17 tartan ties and more than a dozen pairs of cufflinks.
International Space Station commander Chris Hadfield, who tweeted images of Scotland from orbit and became noted for his zero-gravity performance of David Bowie's hit Space Oddity, received a £35 Complete Burns Box Set.
It was clear Mr Salmond wished to showcase 2014 events in the giveaways, with 51 European Team Ryder Cup ties, and 11 hardback Jewel in the Glen books about Gleneagles handed out.
Former First Minister Henry McLeish was among those who picked up one of the £7.85 ties.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Ministers give gifts which relate directly to Scotland, showcasing our country and the best of our nation's talent, produce and contribution to the wider world."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article