SCOTTISH Labour MP Michael Shanks has been called out for spreading “misleading nonsense” about last week’s Gaza ceasefire vote.
It comes as the SNP have called for a “full, independent investigation” into new revelations which they say prove Labour deliberately sought to wreck the SNP’s motion on a ceasefire.
We told how Labour MP Chris Bryant told Channel 4 he admitted to filibustering the debate as he described the whole day as a “grubby” affair.
Writing on Twitter/X, Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP Shanks said: “Parliament voted for an immediate ceasefire on Wednesday. The fact the SNP weren’t there to vote doesn’t change that.”
Responding to Shanks, the SNP MP for Livingston Hannah Bardell said: “Misleading nonsense, we walked out of the chamber – in protest at the way business was being conducted – to the voting lobby, to vote.
“Michael knows this but can’t help himself.”
Stewart McDonald was also among those to call Shanks out, writing: "Michael you do yourself a disservice. We left the chamber and went into the voting lobby to vote for your amendment, as it was clear the shenanigans of points of order were getting us nowhere. You know this and your tweet is enormously disingenuous."
Chief whip Owen Thompson meanwhile described the tweet as "complete fiction" and added: "SNP MPs were already in the Aye lobby ready to vote."
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Shanks is not the only Scottish Labour figure to come in for criticism following last week’s debate with Anas Sarwar branded “shameful” for blaming the chaos in the Commons on the SNP.
The fallout from the debate is expected to continue this week with Lindsay Hoyle facing continued pressure over his job and Keir Starmer continuing to face questions over his own conduct.
Hoyle sparked fury after breaking with “long-established convention” to allow a debate on a Labour amendment on an SNP opposition-day motion.
Starmer has so far denied bullying the Speaker (below) into selecting his party’s amendment although a report in The Sun suggests Labour MPs were boasting their leader was “going to fix the Speaker” in a key meeting ahead of the debate.
More than 70 MPs signed a motion of no confidence in the Speaker, including the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.
It comes as the SNP have called for a “full, independent investigation” into new revelations which they say prove Labour sought to wreck the SNP motion on a ceasefire in Gaza.
During a Channel 4 interview on Sunday night, Labour MP Chris Bryant admitted he was ordered to filibuster to block progress on the SNP’s motion for an immediate ceasefire.
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