ALEX Salmond has been accused of making an embarrassing gaffe during a late night TV interview when he forgot about a flagship health reform which was introduced when he was First Minister.

 

Appearing on BBC's Newsnight, the Gordon MP spoke of his support for allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote at the EU referendum. He was asked by host Evan Davis whether the principle meant he also supported allowing teenagers of the same age to buy cigarettes.

He replied: "I think there should be heavy restrictions on buying cigarettes for everyone, frankly." When asked whether the law should be different for 16 and 17-year-olds, he said: "In Scotland, the age of majority is 16."

Challenged over whether this meant 16-year-olds could buy cigarettes north of the border, Mr Salmond said: "I think that is yes, actually." When asked whether he didn't know, he admitted: "I'm not absolutely sure, because I've been concentrating on things like do they pay taxes, can they join the forces, can they get married..."

When the presenter said the age was definitely 18, Mr Salmond said: "I didn't know that".

In Scotland, the legal age for buying cigarettes has been 18 for almost a decade. The new law came into force in October 2007, when Mr Salmond was First Minister, and was hailed as "a milestone" by his then-public health minister, Shona Robison. The law-change was unanimously backed by MSPs, including Mr Salmond.

Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: "This shows that Alex Salmond, as Scotland's First Minister, was so single-minded about separation he can't even recall landmark pieces of legislation.

"How can anyone speak with authority on 16 and 17-year-old voting when he doesn't even remember banning them from smoking?"

Later in the interview, Mr Salmond was challenged over comments he made in the House of Commons, when he told Government minister Anna Soubry to "behave yourself, woman."

The SNP foreign affairs spokesman faced accusations of sexism, with Ms Soubry saying Mr Salmond "seems to think women should be seen not heard" and that "his attitude belongs firmly in the 19th century."

Nicola Sturgeon has defended her MP while on her current tour of the United States, saying of her predecessor: "He's not got a sexist bone in his body."

During the interview Mr Salmond said he did not regret the comments "in the slightest". He added: "It's a Scottish idiom, I said 'behave yourself man' many times in the Scottish Parliament. I think it was merited on the occasion, there was certainly nothing sexist in it, whatever else you might think of it."

According to a search of the Scottish Parliament official record, the term "behave yourself man" has never been used during proceedings at Holyrood.

An SNP spokeswoman said: "The SNP tightened legislation on smoking for reasons of public health. The issue of votes for 16 and 17 year olds is an important matter of principle - that they should not be disenfranchised in a referendum on EU membership."