AN SNP MP has been sacked after backing a campaign to sue his colleague.
Neale Hanvey, who is a cancer specialist, has been removed as shadow vaccine spokesman after refusing to apologise for supporting a campaign against Kirsty Blackman.
Hanvey posted “speak clear and stay strong” on a crowdfunder page which was raising cash to bring a defamation case against Blackman, who is the party's deputy Westminster leader.
The row erupted after a Twitter user was accused of misgendering a member of the SNP.
READ MORE: Neale Hanvey on his return to SNP and learning from mistakes after an uncertain year
An SNP spokesperson said: “Neale Hanvey was given the opportunity to apologise for his actions, which are incompatible with the responsibilities of a frontbench spokesperson, including the requirement for teamwork and collective responsibility.
“He failed to do so and he has been removed from his position.”
Hanvey was previously suspended from the SNP for using anti-Semitic language on social media.He was reported to the party last year for sharing an article featuring a caricature of billionaire businessman George Soros as a puppet-master and another drawing parallels between the contemporary treatment of Palestinians and that of the Jewish people in the Second World War.
He was readmitted after completing a course at a Holocaust centre and meeting with leaders from Scotland’s Jewish community to apologise for social media posts uncovered during the 2019 general election campaign.
The posts had been made three years earlier and Hanvey said he had not given “consideration” to Soros’ faith or understood the internationally-recognised definition of antisemitism. Issuing an “unequivocal apology”, he stated: “I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused. Whilst that was not my intention, that was the effect and I accept full responsibility for this serious misjudgement.”
He told The National in December last year: “I have always accepted full responsibility for my error in judgement in 2016, for which I have sincerely, and unreservedly, apologised. I was duly sanctioned for this by my party and complied with those terms without complaint.
“I have earnestly sought to atone for my error and have subsequently been commended by the Jewish community for the positive way in which I have dealt with the matter.
"The support and subsequent recognition I received from Danny Stone, CEO of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, and Andrew Percy MP, co-chair of the APPG [all-party parliamentary group] on antisemitism, has been warm, generous and humbling."
READ MORE: Neale Hanvey defends election to SNP disciplinary board a year after suspension
He continued: “I am currently engaging with the Jewish Leadership Council to support their work in better informing political discourse, and it is my hope that by drawing on my professional experience and the learning from my recent challenges, I can support members deal sensitively with such issues. I would suggest the conduct committee can provide more than just a reactive service, and there is scope for their work to take a lead for member development in this area.”
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