A Westminster politician has slammed Commonwealth Games chiefs after claiming they have snubbed Kinross-shire.
Gordon Banks, who represents Ochil and South Perthshire, has written to the chief executive of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and to Bernadette Malone, Perth and Kinross Council chief executive, to express his anger that the area has been left off the route of the Queen’s Baton Relay.
Kinross-shire has three high-profile athletes who will feature at the games Eilidh Child, Laura Muir and Patrick McHugh and Mr Banks said he found the decision not to visit the area “disappointing”.
“Given the significant route which the baton relay will take across Scotland, I think most people will be surprised and disappointed, as I am, that there is not a single point at which the baton will appear in Kinross-shire,” he said.
“I have written to the chief executive of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games to ask why this is the case.”
He continued: “I have also written to the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council to seek their view and receive reassurance that the council did everything possible to advocate that Kinross-shire should be included on the route in their own planning and preparation activity.”
Full details of the Queen’s Baton Relay route have not yet been released but it has been confirmed that it will be carried through Blair Atholl, Dunkeld, Scone Palace, Perth, Auchterarder and Crieff.
The event in Perth on July 4 is expected to attract thousands of people and will culminate in a free evening concert at the North Inch featuring former Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates.
A spokesperson for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games said: “The route for the Queen’s Baton Relay has been planned by Glasgow 2014 in partnership with Commonwealth Games Scotland and 32 local authorities.
“At the heart of it is a strong commitment to have as many people as possible joining Scotland’s countdown to the Commonwealth Games.”
She continued: “The Queen’s Baton journey through Scotland has been developed to share the excitement of Glasgow and Scotland’s countdown to the Commonwealth Games with as many people as possible.
“With 400 communities being visited over 40 days, this is the most engaging relay the nation has ever seen.
“For the first time in the history of any relay, all secondary schools have been asked to nominate a student baton bearer, meaning even more communities are represented.
“There are so many opportunities for the public to join in. We encourage people to come out and cheer the extraordinary baton bearers across communities, and attend the vast programme of sports and cultural events taking place along the route.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council added: “The route aims to visit communities which did not get the chance to host the Olympic torch relay in 2012.
“It was fantastic to see the Olympic flame in some of our communities in 2012. We want to share that excitement with as many people as possible in Perth and Kinross, so we have worked with Glasgow 2014 to choose a route that visits areas the torch did not get to.”