AN SNP veteran suspended by the party over homophobic and misogynist remarks has quit the organisation, accusing it of "McMafia tactics".
Just weeks after bidding for a place on the party's ruling body Andy Doig has walked after being de-selected as a candidate.
Mr Doig was suspended last year after sending a “spoof press release” that called a female Yes campaigner “seriously stacked” and contained a crude sexual allusion to gay finance secretary Derek Mackay.
Read more: Top European official adds to doubts over Nicola Sturgeon's Brexit plan
The Herald understands this was a major factor in his de-selection.
But the deputy leader of Renfrewshire's SNP group and former Assistant National Secretary told a local newspaper there had been a campaign to remove him starting with what he described as "the night of the long sgian dubhs".
The SNP said that its National Executive Committee "considered that Mr Doig was not a fit and proper person to represent the SNP at the coming election".
The 55-year-old, who joined the party in 1979, will see out the rest of the current council term as an independent. His wife Audrey did however passed party vetting.
Read more: Top European official adds to doubts over Nicola Sturgeon's Brexit plan
Mr Doig said: "I am sick of the McMafia tactics being used against me by the party I used to love.
"I will now sit on Renfrewshire Council as an Independent councillor and will continue to represent them with the same dedication, vigour and commitment as ever.
"It is in the public domain that, in a lapse of judgement, I composed a satirical spoof email in 2015, lampooning other SNP members. I apologised for this, both publicly and, to most of those mentioned in the email, privately.
"The Oxford Dictionary defines satire as 'the use of humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues'.
Read more: Top European official adds to doubts over Nicola Sturgeon's Brexit plan
"A year ago, the SNP Appeals Committee found I was guilty of a lapse of judgement but, crucially, found I personally was not homophobic or misogynistic, that I had not composed the spoof email with malice and that I did not intend it to be made public.
"Right back to 2015, the SNP leadership wanted to get me in a night of the long sgian dubhs."
Mr Doig also told the Paisley Gazette: "On February 1, I attended an appeal meeting in SNP HQ, with three MSPs in attendance.
"Following a lengthy discussion, the Appeals Committee of the NEC found that my appeal against being deselected as a council candidate was upheld.
"Yet on February 7, the National Secretary, Dr Angus MacLeod, and the rest of the NEC overturned their decision.
"I am sure I will not be alone in scenting a vendetta here.
"In all conscience, I cannot remain within a party which is happy to use private emails to smear me and which now operates in such an authoritarian manner."
A founder member of the Young Scottish Nationalists in 1981, he was also prominent in the SNP's left-wing '79 Group' , an unsuccessful Westminister candidate on four occasions and failed to enter Holyrood twice.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel