A FIGHT for a seat on the SNP’s ruling body has been hit by a row over "dirty tricks", after an MP’s campaign team improperly used a restricted mailing list.
Angela Crawley, who is standing for the position of National Women & Equalities Convener, has now been spoken to by national secretary Patrick Grady about the rules breach.
It is understood rivals complained after Ms Crawley’s campaign sent an email to party election agents ahead of this week’s SNP conference, inviting them to meet the 29-year-old MP for Lanark and Hamilton East before Saturday’s vote on the convenership.
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In a message to party members seen by the Herald, Mr Grady said he had “no doubt that the email should not have been sent” as it used a “which exists for the purposes of pairing up candidates and agents, and nothing else”.
Mr Grady said he accepted Ms Crawley was “not aware” of it being issued and she remained a nominee, but he had “reminded her… that she needs to be aware of what others may be doing in her name”.
He said other nominees had asked to access the list too, but he refused.
One senior SNP source said: “This smacks of dirty tricks. The current national secretary, Mr Grady, should have taken more appropriate action,
Ms Crawley has been endorsed by a number of senior SNP figures, including MPs Mhairi Black and Angus Brendan MacNeil and MSPs Clare Adamson and James Dornan.
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Mrs Crawley’s main rival for the convener’s position is Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, the MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, who has been the incumbent since 2011.
Her supporters include former First Minister Alex Salmond and MEP Alyn Smith.
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Also standing for convener are activists Irene Hood and Jamie Szymkowiak.
Ms Crawley said the email was sent out as “a genuine mistake” by her assistant John Adamson, the husband and election agent of Motherwell & Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson.
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