Alex Salmond MP

"Will the Prime Minister set out a clear timetable for the removal from the statute book of the Act of Settlement. It represents clear institutional discrimination against millions of our fellow citizens.

"Wouldn't a government set on a course of repeal show leadership, authority and direction?"

Mr Blair gave a curt "no" in response and spent the bulk of his reply ranting about Scottish Independence.

Commenting afterwards, Mr Salmond said:

"The Prime Minister should be ashamed of his petulant response. He should have taken a deep breath and thought a little before launching into his reply.

"He needs to take his responsibilities more seriously and stop obsessing about his own self-preservation.

"This is an issue of cross-party and cross-faith concern. Tony Blair's blunt dismissal of repeal is unhelpful. It sends the wrong signal and undermines efforts in Scotland to tackle discrimination.

"The Act is state sectarianism and has no place in a modern society.

"The Prime Minister wanted to talk about Independence for Scotland. I can assure him that if Britain is unwilling to act, an independent Scotland will quickly remove this discrimination."

ENDS

Notes

What the Act says

"all and every person and persons that then were, or afterwards should be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with the see or Church of Rome, or should profess the popish religion, or marry a papist, should be excluded, and are by that Act made for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and government of this realm"

Opposition to the Act

Cardinal O'Brien: "the country's shame"

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor: "It is clear that the Act of Settlement does explicitly discriminate against Catholics." December 2001

Cardinal Winning: "I can think of no major public figure prepared to defend the language of intolerance contained in the offensive clauses. What is now needed is a clear signal that this issue will be tackled, and tackled soon."

Church of Scotland: "the discriminatory provisions of the Act of Settlement have no place in our contemporary society. The act was a product of its times and those times are not our times." 1999

Dr David Hope, then CoE Archbishop of York: "It is a very negative kind of arrangement at the moment. I cannot really see why members of the royal family should not be free to marry whom they will" 1999

Cllr Bashir Mann of the Muslim community: "The Muslim religion is against all kinds of discrimination on account of race, colour or creed. We would therefore support and amendment to the act, that would remove this flagrant statutory discrimination against the Roman Catholic faith." 1999

The Act in Action

Prince Michael of Kent and the Earl of St Andrews (the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent) have lost their right of succession by marrying Roman Catholics in, respectively, 1978 and 1988.