NICOLA Sturgeon has claimed the failure of Ruth Davidson to apologise for “offensive” remarks about an ex-MSP undermines the Prime Minister’s claim that the UK takes hate crimes seriously.
The First Minister has written to the Scottish Tory leader calling on her to withdraw and apologise for the comments about French-born former SNP MSP Christian Allard 10 days ago.
Sturgeon said the longer Davidson refused to do so, the more it undermined Theresa May’s assurance to the Polish Prime Minister that “the concerns about hate crimes committed towards Polish citizens living in the UK” are taken seriously.
Allard had reported Aberdeenshire West Tory MSP Alexander Burnett to the Standards Commissioner for failing to disclose his business interests when raising objections against a rival property developer in the Scottish Parliament.
The Tory press office responded with a statement which said: “Some people may find it bizarre that an EU citizen has an interest in a planning application in Banchory. However, it is easily explained when people understand that the planning consultant in question is an SNP appointee to the Scottish Government housing committee and Christian Allard was a former SNP MSP.”
Allard lives near Banchory in Aberdeenshire and represented the North East Scotland region until earlier this year.
In her letter, Sturgeon writes: “Political leaders, such as ourselves, have a responsibility to set the tone for political debate – and never more so than in the current climate, when the post-Brexit landscape has witnessed some deeply troubling episodes in other parts of the UK, and which all of us have a serious responsibility to try and avoid occurring in Scotland.”
The FM says that though she and Davidson make their respective cases on the constitutional future of Scotland “with vigour and passion” debate must be “tempered with respect, a respect which was utterly lacking in the remarks about Christian Allard and, by extension, other EU citizens living in Scotland”.
She adds: “The Prime Minister has had to assure the Polish Government that the UK Government are taking seriously the concerns about hate crimes committed towards Polish citizens living in the UK. But those reassurances risk being undermined when you, as Scottish Conservative leader, fail to retract or apologise for the offensive remarks issued by your office. She goes on: “The comment was a completely unacceptable one to have been issued by a mainstream political party in Scotland.”
Sturgeon urged Davidson to make it clear the Tories accept “that EU citizens living in Scotland have a right to involve themselves in the affairs of their communities and in public life in general” and that the comment issued by her office was “unacceptable”.
The First Minister concludes: “Ten days have now passed since the comments were made. And every passing day without a public acknowledgement and apology gives credence to the impression that you do not consider it a serious matter.
“If you ultimately fail to publicly withdraw the comment and apologise for it, then the only conclusion people will be able to draw is that you – and the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party as a whole – are content for such sentiments to be part of public debate in Scotland. That would be a matter of deep regret.”
The Tories declined to comment.
On Thursday Theresa May called Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo to express “deep regret” over race-hate attacks on Polish citizens living in the UK.
A spokesman for Number 10 said: “Prime Minister Szydlo thanked her for the continuing support of the British authorities and expressed her gratitude that the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary had received their Polish counterparts in London this week to discuss the incidents.
“The Prime Minister reiterated that hate crime has no place in UK society.”
The PM’s remarks came just weeks after the murder of Arek Jozwik, a Polish-born factory who was killed by a mob of teenagers in Harlow, Essex.
Locals said they began kicking the 40-year-old after hearing him speak in his native tongue. After a remembrance march for him last Sunday, two Polish men were attacked in Harlow.
The Polish Embassy in London said its consuls have intervened 15 times in recent weeks over reports of xenophobic incidents.
Meanwhile, Burnett faces a probe by the Electoral Commission regarding allegations he failed to properly disclose campaign spending.
The SNP have called on Davidson to suspend the Eton-educated millionaire property developer while claims are investigated.
The Tory won his seat at the Holyrood election in May by just 900 votes and was only £1,303 under the Electoral Commission’s £14,062 campaign spending limit.
If the space in Burnett’s Banchory Business Centre had been declared it could easily have taken the politician over the spending limit. Photos of the office being used for campaigning were posted online by Burnett’s election agent Grace O’Keeffe.
Any complaint about the issue will be investigated by Police Scotland.
An SNP spokesman told a Sunday newspaper: “These are serious revelations about campaign spending in Aberdeenshire West and raise questions over whether the Tories broke election rules.
“In this case – where the Tories edged the vote by only the slightest of margins – any campaign spending kept off the books could have affected the outcome of the election.”
Burnett’s election returns claim the accommodation was supplied by the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine branch of the Scottish Conservatives, and that he spent £376.25 on office costs, with a further £682.50 spent between January and April.
The allegations come as police forces in England and Wales investigate claims the Tories committed fraud by declaring the £2,000-a-day general election “Battlebus 2015 campaign” as a national campaigning cost, even though it was used for campaigning in local constituencies.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin said: “It is vital for that candidates and political parties are open and transparent in what they spend. The Tories won Aberdeenshire West by only the slimmest of margins and any campaign spending kept off the books could be seen as one candidate having an unfair advantage.
“Since his election in May, Alexander Burnett has made a series of blunders and caused serious embarrassment for the Scottish Tories. In cases where a member faces questions over their election spending, the public have a right to expect full answers from the Scottish Tories and Ruth Davidson should now suspend him from the party until the issue is fully resolved.”
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