SNP to suspend Angus Robertson over ‘secret’ meeting with Israel

Angus Robertson is under increasing pressure to resign as the SNP’s foreign minister following a “secret” meeting with Israel’s deputy ambassador after party members called for his suspension.

The Dalkeith branch of the SNP tabled a motion of no confidence in Mr Robertson, claiming he had damaged the party’s reputation through his discussions with Daniela Grudsky, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UK.

MPs, MSPs and SNP members have expressed anger at the talks, arguing that they undermine the party’s condemnation of Israeli actions in Gaza and calls for a separate Palestinian state, with some calling for Mr Robertson to be sacked.

It emerged that Christine Grahame, one of the party’s most senior MPs, wrote a letter to John Swinney urging him to take action against Mr Robertson, warning him that he was a “liability”.

But The Telegraph reported last week that Mr Swinney had authorised the talks, arguing they were justified so that Mr Robertson could “express the Scottish Government’s clear and unwavering position on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza”.

Shona Robison, deputy first minister, said on Sunday that Mr Swinney “felt the meeting was necessary” so that Mr Robertson could raise the Scottish Government’s concerns about Israel’s actions.

While she said that the Israeli request to meet with Ms Grudsky had been put to several SNP ministers, it had been allocated to Mr Robertson because foreign affairs was his portfolio.

Uproar among SNP members

But the party leadership’s interventions on Mr Robertson’s behalf seemed to do little to assuage members’ anger over the August 8 meeting.

The SNP has already withdrawn its confidence in John Mason, the Glasgow-Shettleston MP, after he wrote on social media that Israel’s actions in Gaza did not amount to “genocide”. He also met with Ms Grudsky.

He argued that Israel could have killed “many, many more” Palestinians if it had intended genocide. The SNP said he had “flippantly dismissed” the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians.

As the Times reported, the motion of no confidence argued that Mr Robertson should also be taken action for holding the meeting despite the International Court of Justice’s ruling last month that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was unlawful.

It said Mr Robertson’s discussion of “areas of cooperation” with Israel contravened the court’s recommendation to avoid any action, including aid or assistance, that would contribute to maintaining the current situation.

The motion also highlighted the “passionate” speeches by former Prime Minister Humza Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla, whose parents were trapped in Gaza last year.

“Bringing the party into disrepute”

The panel concluded that the SNP had “driven condemnation of these actions” and that the meeting represented a “breach” of public confidence in the party’s stance.

Mr Robertson should be investigated by the SNP’s conduct committee for “bringing the party into disrepute”, the motion said, and he should be suspended from his ministerial duties pending the outcome of the Scottish Government investigation.

SNP members and groups, including Scots Asians for Independence, are reportedly trying to rally enough support for the motion to be selected for discussion at the party conference in Edinburgh later this month.

The Mail on Sunday reported that Ms Grahame had told Mr Swinney in a letter about the meeting that her constituents in Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale were “shocked by this apparent support from the SNP”.

She said: “I have long viewed AR (Angus Robertson) as a luxury that the front bench does not need. He is now, in my view, a liability.”

Ms Robison told BBC Radio Scotland’s Sunday Show that the meeting had caused “a lot of excitement” but was necessary “to make clear the Scottish Government’s strong position that there must be an immediate ceasefire” and that “the killing of innocent civilians must stop”.

The SNP and the Scottish Government have been approached for comment.