The SNP's Westminster leader has accused Anas Sarwar of trying to "mislead the people of Scotland" in a row over a Commons vote about the situation in Gaza.
Stephen Flynn claimed the Scottish Labour chief had either told a "lie" or been "spun a line" by colleagues in London over the extent of meetings held between two parties ahead of Wednesday's debate on a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire.
READ MORE: Labour 'considering' Gaza ceasefire motion
Speaking to BBC Scotland over the weekend, Mr Sarwar said there had been contact between the two parties’ whips on a potential deal.
However, Owen Thompson, the SNP’s chief whip, rubbished the claim.
@mmgeissler just listening to your interview with @AnasSarwar on #SundayShow. He claims Labour whips are discussing ceasefire vote with SNP Whips. As SNP Chief Whip I can say this is entirely untrue as there has been no contact with me
— Owen Thompson MP 🎗 (@OwenThompson) February 18, 2024
Asked about the comments during a campaign stop in Aberdeen on Monday morning, Mr Flynn said there had still been no contact.
“I’m deeply confused that Anas Sarwar took it upon himself to go on national television and to effectively lie and mislead the people of Scotland regarding Labour whips speaking to SNP whips,” he said.
“That has not happened – that is categorically untrue.
“I think that does Anas Sarwar a deep dis-service – maybe he’s been spun a line by UK Labour and he’s fallen for it, but it hasn’t happened.”
Mr Flynn said he had offered to meet with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to discuss the vote.
“If there’s an opportunity for him to back our motion in relation to an immediate ceasefire, I’d like to have that discussion,” Mr Flynn said.
Asked if he would consider changes to the party’s motion, the SNP Westminster leader said: “I believe in an immediate ceasefire and I would encourage other party leaders to do likewise.”
Mr Flynn went on to claim the “appeasement of the UK Government simply isn’t working”.
“You can’t have 30,000 people killed, 70,000 injured, 1.4 million people sitting in Rafah which is usually home to about 170,000 to 180,000 people being bombarded by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), and the United Kingdom, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, a close ally of Israel, who of course have a vote in the United Nations, who sell arms to Israel, just sits back, sits silent, doesn’t do anything,” he said.
He added that history is “not going to be judging many people in Westminster particularly well”.
READ MORE: Labour leader Keir Starmer demands 'ceasefire that lasts' in Gaza
Labour has so far refused to back calls for an “immediate” ceasefire, instead calling for a “sustainable” ceasefire.
There was a slight shift in position over the weekend when Sir Keir told delegates at the Scottish Labour conference that the fighting between Israel and Hamas “must stop now."
However, the SNP motion, which will be put to the vote in the Commons on Wednesday, explicitly calls “for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel,” saying that this is the “only way to stop the slaughter of innocent civilians.”
When the SNP called a similar vote back in November, 56 Labour MPs defied Sir Keir.
Neil Cowan, the Scotland Director of Amnesty Internation said the SNP motion "should be unreservedly supported by all parties and all MPs - not with ifs, buts or other qualifications."
He added: “The civilian population of Gaza have been killed in their thousands while the UK government has spoken only of the need for a ‘humanitarian pause’ or a ‘sustainable ceasefire’, rather than straightforwardly doing all in its power to achieve an immediate ceasefire."
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, the total number of fatalities in the Palestinian enclave has now reached 29,092.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.
Scottish Labour was approached for comment.
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