A CROWD-FUNDING bid to oust Alistair Carmichael has raised nearly £30,000, as pressure continues to mount on the disgraced MP.

The SNP also attacked “an extraordinary outburst” by Sir Malcolm Bruce, a former deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, in which he said that every MP told “brazen lies”.

Pete Wishart, the SNP’s Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, said it was a new low, even by the standards of the LibDems’ “increasingly desperate attempts to ... keep Alistair Carmichael in his tax-payer funded job”.

“Sir Malcolm Bruce’s suggestion that ‘every MP’ tells ‘brazen lies’ is astonishing and will come as a revelation to his former constituents in Aberdeenshire, who have every right to now be asking themselves about things Sir Malcolm has said as an MP over the last 30 years,” said Wishart.

“But he and the LibDems shouldn’t judge others by their own standards. Being an MP or MSP is a huge privilege for anyone elected to serve – and untruthfulness can never be simply brushed aside in the way that Sir Malcolm suggests it should.

“The LibDems’ defence of Mr Carmichael gets more ludicrous by the day, and all Sir Malcolm has succeeded in doing is to keep the focus on his colleague.”

He added: “Mr Carmichael told – in his colleague’s own words – a ‘brazen lie’, and admitted that if he had still been Secretary of State he would have had to resign in disgrace. He also contested the General Election on a false prospectus, and that means the voters of Orkney and Shetland now have a right to ask whether he is still fit to serve as their MP.”

Bruce made his remarks on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, as pressure mounted on Carmichael – MP for Orkney and Shetland – to quit after he accepted responsibility for a leaked memo which alleged that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wanted David Cameron to win the election.

He said: “My point is if you’re suggesting every MP who has never quite told the truth or indeed told a brazen lie, including ministers, including Cabinet ministers, including prime ministers, we’d clear out the House of Commons very fast, I would suggest.”

Asked if he was suggesting that lying in public life is widespread, Bruce replied: “No. Well, yes – I think the answer is lots of people have told lies and you know that to be perfectly true.

“The point I’m making is we should, of course, hold people to account and if people lie they should take some consequences. But Alistair has taken consequences. He has apologised. He’s indicated had he been a minister he would resign. He’s forfeited his severance pay.”

Scottish LibDem leader Willie Rennie defended Carmichael and Bruce.

He told The National: “I think that was a bit of hyperbole – of course, I don’t believe that and I don’t think Malcolm does either. What Malcolm was trying to say was that when people make mistakes we should give them a second chance, the opportunity to put things right. The action he [Carmichael] has taken is appropriate to what has happened.”

Calls continued yesterday for Carmichael to quit. An online petition gathers momentum.

Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, confirmed she had received several complaints regarding Carmichael’s conduct in relation to the leak and was considering whether they merited a full investigation.

Lewis Peterson, a local musician in Shetland, who is not a member of any political party, said Carmichael had made a mistake and his resignation would be a chance to return power to voters.

“Half the people in Shetland and Orkney probably share that sentiment but there’s quite a lot of people saying ‘all politicians lie’,” he told The National.

“I worry about the level of cynicism. We encourage youngsters to be interested in politics and if all they’re seeing are smear campaigns and negativity without any comeuppance I think that will put them off voting in future.

“We shouldn’t ignore the lying – it’s an opportunity for Alistair to draw a line under it all if there was a by election.”

The “non-political” crowdfunding bid was started by Fiona Macinnes, from Stromness, in a move to hold Carmichael accountable for his behaviour “before, during and after the election campaign”. If successful, she said an election petition would be raised in the courts which could result in the Orkney and Shetland result being overturned.

However, she added that the petition had to be lodged within 21 days of the election, so the deadline was this Friday.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-people-versus-carmichael#/story