SCOTTISH Tory MSPs have been accused of spreading fake news after launching fierce attacks on the SNP over spending plans for indyref2.
The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed over the weekend that £600,000 will be spent this financial year on planning a second independence vote.
The governing body also agreed to stage a digital rally ahead of May’s ballot.
Miles Briggs was branded a “shameless hypocrite” after he responded to the announcements by suggesting the Scottish Government is prioritising funding indyref2 over building new hospitals.
Party colleague Annie Wells was also shot down after criticising the digital event, having mistakenly claimed the SNP had organised a “mass gathering” in Glasgow.
Briggs, failing to differentiate between taxpayers’ money and party funds, tweeted: “So the SNP cannot find the money for a new Eye Hospital for Edinburgh but can waste taxpayers money on this.”
So the SNP cannot find the money for a new Eye Hospital for Edinburgh but can waste taxpayers money on this. 🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/RI2whq3enk
— Miles Briggs MSP (@MilesBriggsMSP) February 21, 2021
Edinburgh’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion was deemed unfit for purpose in 2015, with plans put in place in 2018 for a new facility to be built at Little France. However, in December, the Scottish Government announced it was no longer in a position to fund the new £45m hospital.
Responding to Briggs’s comments, an SNP spokesperson told The National: "Boris Johnson's Tories and Miles Briggs are shameless hypocrites.
"We'll get on with the day job of leading Scotland's recovery while they blow millions of public cash on pro-Union propaganda.
"The issue at the election in May will be this: who has the right to decide what sort of country we should be after the pandemic – the people of Scotland or Boris Johnson?"
READ MORE: SNP chiefs announce major funding boost in drive for indyref2
The Tory MSP also came under fire on social media.
Scottish Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie accused him of spreading disinformation.
She tweeted: “Deliberate misinformation for Myles here. This money is from our party funds and nothing at all to do with tax payers money. Tell me about the Tory crony contracts Myles [sic]?”
Deliberate misinformation for Myles here. This money is from our party funds and nothing at all to do with tax payers money. Tell me about the Tory crony contracts Myles? #Disinformation https://t.co/LwZ4KjkinY
— Christina McKelvie (@ChristinaSNP) February 22, 2021
SNP MP John Nicholson wrote: “Does Miles really not understand the difference between SNP members’ donations & taxpayer funds? Or is this yet more deliberate Trumpian deception?”
Meanwhile, Wells was forced to delete her post about the SNP organising a physical march in the middle of a pandemic.
She responded to an article about the SNP plans which was illustrated with a picture from a previous Yes event in George Square.
The Scottish Tory MSP tweeted: “It’s astonishing that this mass gathering has been approved by Glasgow City Council.
“GCC has serious questions to answer, and many will rightly be questioning there is one rule for those marching in support of independence and another rule for everybody else.”
Glasgow SNP councillor Mhairi Hunter quickly corrected the claims.
She replied: “No mass gathering has been approved by Glasgow City Council. This is an old picture. You might want to delete this tweet.”
Briggs’s false assertions about the SNP’s use of taxpayers’ money came as Boris Johnson was urged to explain how much of the public purse is been spent on his Union Unit.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson urged to reveal Union Unit's cost to taxpayer
Two of the cell’s key advisers have quit in the past fortnight, fueling concerns about spiraling costs.
Oliver Lewis, a veteran of the Vote Leave Brexit campaign, left on Friday and is reported to have said his position was made “untenable” by others within Number 10. He had replaced former Scottish MP Luke Graham as head of the unit earlier in February, who lasted less than a year in the job.
SNP MP Stewart Hosie argued taxpayers have a right to know how much public money the Prime Minister has spent on his anti-independence campaign.
He said spending was “spiralling out of control”, including salaries of £110,000-£114,999 for Lewis and £90,000-£94,999 for Graham.
Hosie also pointed out Downing Street had briefed the press that it will spend an estimated £1-£2 million on hiring up to 50 officials for the unit.
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