Scottish Political Party Accused Of Airbrushing Queen Elizabeth Out Of A Portrait

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has apparently been airbrushed out of a photograph. The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) have been accused of removing portraits of the monarch and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, from a picture featured in a party newsletter distributed in Falkirk.

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Linda Gow, the Labour leader of Falkirk Council, said: "This is astonishing and deceitful. It is a huge insult to the head of state and to people here in Falkirk. The SNP need to apologize for this outrageous snub."

Local SNP councilor Cecil Meiklejohn blamed an "overly enthusiastic" local party member for removing the royal portraits.

She said: "It is the policy of the SNP that the Queen remains head of state in an independent Scotland and that the current parliamentary and political Union should become a monarchical and social union."

In the photograph - which features various SNP councilors - the royal portraits, which have hung in the council chamber since 1964, have been replaced by images of Scottish heroes William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

Falkirk MP and former Army major Eric Joyce said those serving in the armed forces would be "furious" with the removal of the portraits.

He added to the BBC: "Doctoring a photo in this way stoops very low. This is another real insult to the Royal Family from the SNP. They should be ashamed of this fakery."