AN SNP MSP has been accused of "spreading panic" after publicising misinformation about the coronavirus epidemic at Holyrood.
Richard Lyle used First Minister's Questions to air what turned out to be fake news about soldiers mustering in a public park.
In a session devoted to the pandemic, he said: "There are unconfirmed reports that Army units are setting up in Strathclyde Park in my constituency”.
The Uddingston & Bellshill MSP then asked Nicola Sturgeon what discussions she had had “with the armed forces high command in Scotland regarding the emergency, and will Army units be used during it?”
Ms Sturgeon said she would “look into the specific issue that Richard Lyle has raised”.
She added: “The Army often provides support when we need it.
“For example, during previous terrorist incidents, the Army has been able to provide support at the request of the police. In terms of dialogue, procedures are well-established between the Scottish Government and the Army. We will take help wherever we can get it."
However the Army’s regional office in Scotland shot down the “unconfirmed report” as fake.
A spokesman said: “It’s a social media rumour that has been going on for about a day.
"It’s not true. It’s a social media rumour that’s in circulation.”
Mr Lyle later came under fire for his remark on social media.
The SNP’s own defence spokesperson, MP Stewart McDonald, tweeted: “This is false.”
This is false. https://t.co/HFADaqHwKI
— Stewart McDonald MP (@StewartMcDonald) March 19, 2020
The UK Defence Journal, which publishes international defence news and analysis, accused Mr Lyle of “unwittingly helping to spread misinformation regarding the armed forces response to Covid-19”.
It said he should “absolutely know better, the reports are unconfirmed because they're nonsense.”
READ MORE: Virgin Media users hit by "intermittent" mobile issues for second day
It tweeted: “Richard, you're spreading panic based on posts you've seen on social media.
"You're the target audience for this type of misinformation.
“It may not impact you but it'll certainly impact others, please critically evaluate what you see on social media, you're a MSP.”
It is sometimes the job of a Politician to ask the hard question and I will continue to do that even if some people don’t agree with me .
— Richard Lyle MSP (@RichardlyleSnp) March 19, 2020
To them I say Tough.!!! https://t.co/NRKezTpaER
However a defiant Mr Lyle said he was only doing his job as a politician.
He tweeted: “It is sometimes the job of a Politician to ask the hard question and I will continue to do that even if some people don’t agree with me.
“To them I say Tough.!!!”
Mr Lyle, 69, recently announced he plans to step down at next year’s Holyrood election.
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