THE SNP\u2019s refusal to suspend Nicola Sturgeon\u2019s husband amid a police investigation may amount to \u201cunlawful discrimination\u201d, an MP has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joanna Cherry KC said other members of the party had been suspended over relatively smaller issues, yet Peter Murrell remained within the fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe is very lucky that his SNP membership has not been suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation,\u201d she said, adding: \u201cOthers have not enjoyed the same leniency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Murrell was arrested and questioned by police officers last week as part of a long-running investigation into the SNP\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Murrell, who quit as SNP chief executive last month after the media were misled about the party\u2019s falling membership, was later released without charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers also searched the Glasgow home he shares with Ms Sturgeon and seized a luxury \u00a3110,00 motorhome from outside his 92-year-old mother\u2019s house in Dunfermline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was later reported that the SNP bought the vehicle as a Covid compliant \u2018battle bus\u2019 ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election, but never used it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police Scotland is looking at whether \u00a3660,000 raised specifically to fight a second independence campaign may have been spent on other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, SNP leader and First Minister Humza Yousaf said the SNP had decided not to pay Mr Murrell\u2019s legal fees as he was no longer its chief executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However he also ruled out Mr Murrell being suspended for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: \u201cI\u2019m not asking Peter Murrell to resign or suspend his membership. I tend to operate on the premise that people are innocent until proven guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, writing in the Herald\u2019s sister paper, The National, Ms Cherry said the approach to Mr Murrell was not consistent with the party\u2019s recent treatment of other members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said: \u201cOthers have not enjoyed the same leniency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne thinks of Michelle Thomson, never arrested, ultimately exonerated but thrown under the bus at the first hint of trouble. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTim Rideout was suspended for six months for an ill-judged tweet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGender-critical women have been suspended indefinitely for tweets exercising their right to freedom of belief and freedom of speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis difference in approach is neither fair nor in accordance with the principles of natural justice. In some cases, it might even amount to unlawful discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Thomson was suspended while police looked at her property dealings, while Mr Rideout was suspended after a row over a \u2018racist\u2019 tweet about then Home Secretary Priti Patel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Cherry, the MP for Edinburgh South West, said the SNP\u2019s disciplinary procedures needed to be clarified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She went on: \u201cThe anomalies in how the SNP\u2019s complaints and disciplinary process has been applied are part of a much wider problem with the party\u2019s management which is now in the public domain because of recent events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am conscious from my conversations with party members and from my mailbox that what has occurred has been deeply shocking for many. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor others, including myself, while some of the visuals have been shocking, the fact that there is a significant problem has come as no surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE SNP\u2019s refusal to suspend Nicola Sturgeon\u2019s husband amid a police investigation may amount to \u201cunlawful discrimination\u201d, an MP has said. Joanna Cherry KC said other members of the party had been suspended over relatively smaller issues, yet Peter Murrell remained within the fold. \u201cHe is very lucky that his SNP membership has not been suspended…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scottish-politics","tag-main"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n