THE Scottish Government has insisted it still wants the William Wallace letter to remain north of the Border – but campaigners say they are being shut out of talks and ministers are "running down by the clock" as the document’s planned return to England looms.
The National previously revealed that more than a thousand people had backed a petition calling for the Wallace letter to remain in Scotland, amid anger at the prospect of it being sent back to London.
Ministers are now restating their desire for a “future in Scotland” for the letter as anger grows at the apparent lack of action, with campaigners accusing the Government of “failing” and questioning the purpose of the Culture department.
The National understands there has been no refusal to meet, and that ministers’ diaries are heavily constrained following an election period.
In May, Culture Secretary Mairi McAllan said the medieval letter “should remain in Scotland” and vowed to work with the UK Government to keep it here.
Campaigners are claiming both the Culture Secretary and Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad are refusing to meet, with David Reid, head of the Society of William Wallace stating: "From the Society’s point of view, as much as we want to be kind of reserved about it, it’s getting to the point where we’re basically going to be vocally saying that the Scottish Government are failing.
“With culture, we have a dedicated Cabinet Minister for that. That’s their responsibility. It’s the responsibility of our government to ensure that these kinds of things are not just abandoned, you know what I mean?
"It should be a really important thing that they focus on, and they focus on a lot of things. They focus on a lot of things and spend money on these things that people don’t question, so why are we questioning whether they focus on this?
"We’re not asking the Education or the Health Secretary to get involved and spend that budget on this matter. We’re asking the Culture Minister to do their job, essentially. And if they’re not, then what’s the purpose?"
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government’s position is that the Wallace letter should be in Scotland.
“We are exploring options with UK authorities to seek a solution that would best preserve the document, enable it to be displayed, and see its future in Scotland.”
The letter – issued in 1300 by Philip IV of France to his representatives at the papal court – is one of only two surviving documents with a direct personal link to Wallace and is currently on loan to National Records of Scotland (NRS) from The National Archives in London.
Ministers have not publicly set out what options are on the table, or what form discussions with UK officials and Kew have taken.
The letter was last displayed at General Register House in Edinburgh on St Andrew’s Day 2024, under strict conservation conditions.
NRS and UK archivists have cited “best working practice” – keeping items within whole collections – as a reason the Wallace letter should ultimately stay in Kew.
However, the society believes Scottish officials fear that seeking a permanent transfer would open the door to other governments seeking the return of material, such as George Washington letters held in Edinburgh.
They argue one Wallace letter “would still not equate” to thousands of other documents in terms of cultural weight.
“The Wallace letter is one of only two documents significant to William Wallace that we know of that have been recovered,” Reid argued.
“So, 5000 George Washington letters would still not equate to one of Wallace’s, not on a historical or a cultural point of view.”
Wallace is famous for leading the Scots in the defeat of the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297. He later spent time in Europe but by 1305 was back in Scotland where he was captured, taken to London and executed.
Historians discovered the letter in the Tower of London in the 1830s, and while no-one knows exactly how it got there, experts believe Wallace carried it with him.
Reid also warned that heritage groups are being left to plug the gaps.
“We really shouldn’t be the champions of this when there’s a whole government that’s supposed to be doing it,” he said.
“If we weren’t here, these things would just get left to rack and ruin. It’s the societies that are constantly pushing for restoration work or paying for new things to be done… simply because the Scottish Government and the local authorities just don’t want to touch anything to do with William Wallace, and that narrative needs to change.
“It really does, because it’s not acceptable.”
