One rule for SNP and another for everyone else, says Anas Sarwar

The SNP has been embroiled in a controversy over former North Lanarkshire Council leader Jordan Linden, who was convicted last month of 10 offences, including five sexual assaults.

The party has launched an independent review of its complaints process and suspended one of its candidates – former North Lanarkshire group leader Tracy Carragher – over allegations she never passed on complaints about Mr Linden.

But questions continue to be raised about senior members of the party and their knowledge of allegations against Mr Linden, with Health Secretary Neil Gray – a senior member of the party in North Lanarkshire – denying knowledge of the claims and then eports surfacing that former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was told of his behaviour in 2016.

Speaking to journalists in Glasgow on Monday, Anas Sarwar drew parallels between the action he took against former Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy – who was sacked by the party after her ongoing friendship with convicted paedophile Sean Morton - came to light.

Ms Duncan Glancy was withdrawn as a Labour candidate immediately following the reports but kept the party whip for some weeks before pressure led to it being stripped.

The Scottish Labour leader also hit out at SNP candidate Kirsten Oswald, who was the party’s deputy Westminster leader when allegations against former MP Patrick Grady, who was suspended from parliament for two days in 2022 after he was found to have made a sexual advance to a teenage SNP staff member, surfaced. The former Glasgow North MP stood down in 2024.

Mr Sarwar told journalists at a cafe in Glasgow’s east end: “Look, we're just being upfront. If you look at what is happening, you have ludicrous situation where the SNP have one rule for themselves and another rule for everybody else, one standard for themselves and another standard for everybody else, and when they're never willing to confront the challenges in their own party.

“The fact of the matter is, this is that people were being warned about the behaviour of individuals year after year after year, and action was not taken.

“And for Neil Gray to say he only became aware when the news came on. Why did he think councillors in his constituency were resigning and becoming independent members?

“Why was it? Why did he think people in this party were leaving? They were leaving because of this issue and those warnings.

“So either he's asleep at his SNP local branch meetings, or he was willing to ignore it because he thought it was in his interest, in the party's interest, to ignore it.

“And frankly, his argument doesn't hold water. John Swinney's argument doesn't hold water, and Kirsten all those argument does not hold water, whether it comes to Jordan Linden or whether it comes to Patrick Grady or other cases, this is an institution that believes protecting the individual, protecting those at the top, or protecting the party, is more important than doing what's right by the people of Scotland.”

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When asked if Kirsten Oswald should stand down as a candidate, Mr Sarwar said: “Ultimately, it's for the SNP to decide who their candidates are.

“But if you look at the double standards and the comments they were making about Pam Duncan-Glancy and what they are now saying in relation to Kirsten Oswald, Neil Gray, or others, and look at the difference in approach.

“When something is flagged to me, I take action. When something's flagged to the SNP, they try to cover up, and they put protection of the institution and the individual and the leadership before what's right by the country.

“Until it gets too much pressure, they have to take some action, they come up with a process, and they hope the story goes away.

“And that's what happens time after time after time. It's who John Swinney is. He's made a political career of doing this.

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“And it's that's why so much of the ‘he didn't know’, or ‘Neil Gray didn't know’... this is the machine that was built by John Swinney.

“He was at the side of Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond and Peter Murrell, and building this organisation, he knows how it operates. He knows the culture.

“He knows what it does because he built it, and for him to try now and pretend that somehow it's all news to him. It's just for the birds.

“He's been at the heart of this institution for 20 years, and the culture of the government is similar to the culture they have in the SNP, which is all about, protect the institution, protect the individual, protect the party, and not do what's right by Scotland.”

When asked if Mr Swinney had made a career out of covering up for creeps and perverts, he said: “What I'm saying is he's made a political career out of protecting the institution and the party before anything else, and that is not acceptable.”