A former SNP leader has criticised a ex-party adviser over her involvement in the helping secure £150,000 for T in the Park.
Gordon Wilson said Jennifer Dempsie, who helped broker a meeting with festival organisers DF Concerts Ltd and the Scottish Government in May, had lost “credibility” over the row.
Dempsie was a special adviser for former First Minister Alex Salmond and is now seeking an SNP candidacy for Holyrood in the Highlands and Islands.
The £150,000 “state aid” package, signed off on July 2nd, has been criticised due to Dempsie’s close party ties.
Wilson, who led the SNP in the 1980s, said: “A Party’s reputation is more easily lost than gained. The Jennifer Dempsie case serves as a useful lesson. The SNP should toughen up on relationships of Ministers, MSPs, MPs and MEPs with all lobbyists, regardless of their affiliations. This is all the more important given the new prominence of the Party at Holyrood and Westminster and its access to patronage. The Party’s Code of Conduct should be reviewed at the highest level.
“As for Jennifer Dempsie, she has personally lost credibility. The National Executive Committee has power to refer back candidates for re-interview by its Election Committee without prejudice.
"The reputation of the Party is more important than the ambitions of an individual. But this is in her interests as much as those of the Party as it will allow her to state her case.”
An SNP spokesman said: “There is nothing relevant to candidate assessment in any of the issues raised by Mr Wilson. Ms Dempsie is seeking nomination for the Highlands and Islands regional list, but is not at the moment a parliamentary candidate.”
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