SNP member suspended for actions at disrupted Labour rally

The Scottish National Party has suspended member Piers Doughty-Brown for his role in disrupting a Labour event in Glasgow yesterday. The outdoor rally featured Jim Murphy and Eddie Izzard, but had to be cut short following disruptions by protesters. Murphy described the the protest as “aggressive nationalism”.

Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon said it had been “nothing to do with the SNP”. Today, one of the protesters has been suspended from the party.

It is not the first time Doughty-Brown has been involved in questionable campaigning activities, and questions are being raised to why he was still a member of the SNP by this point. Only last month, he was under fire for haranguing and filming Shadow Scotland Secretary Margaret Curran while she was out doorknocking. On that occasion, Curran’s SNP opponent said Doughty-Brown should not stopped other voters talking to Curran – but said that Curran was a legitimate target for Doughty-Brown’s “community justice”.

In fact, so common are Doughty-Brown’s tactics that Alex Thomson, a Channel 4 News journalist who was at the event, yesterday reported that he appeared so often at Scottish Labour events that he was practically on “first name terms” with leader Jim Murphy.

UPDATE: Margaret Curran has reacted to the news with a statement:

“Yesterday Nicola Sturgeon said the appalling scenes on the streets of Glasgow were nothing to do with the SNP, yet today she has suspended the SNP member who led the disruption. 

“What happened yesterday was the ugly face of nationalism, but we will never let it stop us making a positive case for Scotland’s future – and it will never stop me standing up for the people of the East End of Glasgow.

“As someone who has been followed on the streets of Glasgow by Mr Doughty-Brown and who has raised concerns about his behaviour for months, I am happy to assist Nicola Sturgeon with her investigation.”

UPDATE II: Here’s a photo of Doughty-Brown with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon:

https://twitter.com/blairmcdougall/status/595281565195882496

UPDATE III: A second SNP member has now been suspended. It seems the “Scottish Resistance”, who the SNP said had nothing to do with them, was being led by two SNP members. Blair McDougall, head of Scottish Labour’s policy team, says James Scott has been abusing Labour activists “for months”.

https://twitter.com/blairmcdougall/status/595599200110440448