Broadcaster Andrew Marr has hit out at “ridiculous” Gaelic signs in parts of Scotland he says have no connection to the ancient language. Marr questioned why signage is visible in Edinburgh and said language should “rest and prosper” where it comes from.
The former BBC TV man made his comments during an interview with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. One questioner asked a question on Welshness and Marr expressed a view on Gaelic.
He said: “I find it equally offensive that all sorts of parts of Scotland, which have never been Gaelic, have never had Scots spoken. Why does [Edinburgh train station] Haymarket have to have the Gaelic for Haymarket under it? It’s ridiculous.
“The Scots are made up of many different peoples historically. Many different groups of people have come to Scotland and they brought different languages and I think we should let languages rest and prosper where they come from.”
Sarwar then cut him off to ask if Torcuil Crichton, the Gaelic speaking Labour MP for the Western Isles, was in the room. “I sincerely hope not,” said Marr, before Sarwar dubbed him a “one-man protest”. The Scottish leader said he did not “take the Andrew Marr view”.
Marr is one of the most prominent Scots in the UK media and is a former BBC political editor. He presents a show on LBC and is political editor of the New Statesman.
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