This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24426304
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Scottish Secretary Michael Moore sacked in Lib Dem reshuffle | Scottish Secretary Michael Moore sacked in Lib Dem reshuffle |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has been sacked in a reshuffle of the Liberal Democrats' senior team at Westminster. | Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has been sacked in a reshuffle of the Liberal Democrats' senior team at Westminster. |
| He is being replaced by the Lib Dems' current chief whip, Alistair Carmichael. | He is being replaced by the Lib Dems' current chief whip, Alistair Carmichael. |
| The move comes less than a year before the people of Scotland vote in a referendum on independence. | The move comes less than a year before the people of Scotland vote in a referendum on independence. |
| Mr Moore is thought to be the only cabinet minister on the Lib Dem side of the coalition to lose his job. | Mr Moore is thought to be the only cabinet minister on the Lib Dem side of the coalition to lose his job. |
| The party's UK leader Nick Clegg said that someone with a "different experience" was needed in the final year running up to the referendum itself. | |
| BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent Tim Reid reported that Mr Moore believed he had done his job "pretty effectively" and that he was "very disappointed" by the move. | |
| Mr Moore went on to wish Mr Carmichael good luck in his new post. | |
| After the news broke, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her "best wishes" to Mr Moore. | |
| She added: "A tough opponent but always pleasant. He can take pride in the achievement of the Edinburgh Agreement." | |
| Mr Moore is constituency MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk and has served at Westminster since 1997. | |
| He played a key role in the negotiations which led to the Edinburgh Agreement in October last year. | |
| The deal set out terms for a Scottish independence referendum and was signed by Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond in Scotland's capital. | |
| Liberal Democrat party leader Nick Clegg has thanked Mr Moore for his work in the post, which he was given three years ago. | |
| In a letter to the MP, Mr Clegg said: "Not only have you successfully piloted through legislation to enable Scotland to take a major step towards the party's long held goal of Home Rule, but you have also ensured that the referendum next year will give the Scottish people a clear and decisive question on which to cast their vote. | |
| "It should be recognised that you secured both the Scotland Act and the Edinburgh Agreement in the context of a majority SNP government at Holyrood, and against a backdrop of an external political narrative that often suggested the legislation would fail and a referendum agreement could not be secured." | |
| He added: "I believe we now need to draw on different experience in the final year running up to the referendum itself and I am keen that just as we have benefited from your formidable skills over the past three years that we take advantage of other experience within our ranks during this period." |