John Swinney has faced criticism after signing a joint declaration with Sinn Fein and Welsh nationalists at a summit in Cardiff, with a victims' campaigner warning the move risks "glorifying" IRA violence. The First Minister, who is pursuing closer cooperation with other nationalist parties as part of the SNP's push for Scottish independence, declared alongside counterparts from Wales and Northern Ireland that Westminster's influence is "coming to an end." The criticism follows earlier controversy this year over Swinney's suggestion that people should "move on" from Sinn Fein's IRA links, which prompted a rally by Troubles victims' families at the Scottish Parliament.

Kenny Donaldson of the South East Fermanagh Foundation, a victims' support group, said the SNP and Plaid Cymru had been "uniquely placed" to demand Sinn Fein renounce any justification of violence before forming closer ties, calling this a missed "red line." He questioned what the deal meant for the hundreds of Scottish and Welsh victims of Provisional IRA attacks, while Alex Blair, whose brother died in the 1979 Warrenpoint bombing, previously called Swinney's "move on" remarks "deeply hurtful" and demanded an apology. Swinney signed the declaration alongside Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald, and opponents also accused him of disrespecting the majority of Scots who oppose independence by focusing on constitutional matters rather than governing.