General Election 2019: Anti-Semitism probe member resigns from SNP

Denise Findlay@GraceBrodie

Denise Findlay was a member of the SNP's conduct committee

An SNP committee member who was due to investigate a candidate suspended over anti-Semitic language has resigned after she was also accused of anti-Semitism.

Denise Findlay was on the conduct committee expected to investigate Neale Hanvey, who was dropped as Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath SNP candidate.

Channel Four News reported she had tweeted calling Israel a "Nazi state".

Ms Findlay later confirmed she had resigned from the SNP.

She tweeted: "I've had to resign from the SNP. There are tweets where I'm arguing that Israel=Nazi should not be part of the definition of anti-Semitism. They were given to C4."

'At odds with party ethos'

An SNP spokesman said: "There is no place for anti-Semitism in Scotland or in the SNP.

"All political parties have a duty to show leadership, and we will always take tough action in order to reassure the Jewish community that these matters are taken seriously.

"When challenged on her actions, Denise Findlay resigned from the SNP. The views she expressed are entirely at odds with the ethos of this party."

Neale Hanvey will still appear on the ballot paper, but the SNP has pulled support from his campaign

Neale Hanvey was dropped as the SNP candidate in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath after he shared a post on Facebook in 2016 which included an image of billionaire George Soros as a puppet master controlling world leaders.

In another post he drew parallels between the treatment of Palestinians and the "unconscionable treatment" of Jews in World War Two.

He has since apologised and accepted he was wrong, but insisted he was not in any way anti-Semitic.

He remains on the ballot paper but the SNP has withdrawn its support and party leader Nicola Sturgeon has urged activists to campaign in neighbouring seats.

Mr Hanvey was one of three candidate dropped by Scottish parties last week.

Labour withdrew its support for Falkirk candidate Safia Ali over allegations of anti-Semitic posts on Facebook.

The previous day the Conservatives suspended their Glasgow Central candidate, Flora Scarabello, after she was accused of using "anti-Muslim language".