Jamie Greene, Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Cunninghame North has said that there should be more scrutiny by the SNP over their choice of elected officials.
With a Scottish Parliamentary election looming, Mr Greene said that "there have now been three SNP parliamentarians who've been at the centre of police investigations in recent times and now we discover that the party hierarchy knew about the concerns over Natalie McGarry MP’s involvement in this latest incident for weeks, if not months before it emerged".
Referring to the most recent scandal hitting the headlines over police investigation into an elected SNP MP, the local Tory candidate said "Of course, the SNP also claimed it knew nothing about Michelle Thomson, or indeed Bill Walker, before it was brought to light in the media. These three episodes have exposed SNP vetting procedures for its parliamentarians as shambolic and inadequate. The clear responsibility for this lies with the leadership of the SNP."
To date no-one has has been officially charged with wrong doing but the recent media coverage of their investigation and retirement of the party whip has raised eyebrows amongst political analysts. Ms McGarry is being investigated over the movement of money in the Women for Independence movement and more recently Michelle Thomson MP resigned the party whip.
Mr Greene added that "It's time the SNP leadership acted to restore the damaged reputation of their party by cleaning the stables rather than feigning ignorance and then dithering in the state rooms of Bute House as damaging information unravels through the media. There are now MPs elected in Scotland who no longer represent the party by which they were elected. In just 7 months. It is a shambles. How many more will fall?
To hold public office is such a privilege, sadly one which I didn’t have the opportunity to do in May this year. Whilst I realise that the SNP found itself with a newly found vote of support it already has been engulfed in a number of very public, and damaging, cases of scandal. It really must clean up the ship before it sinks."