NEALE Hanvey will learn today if he’s to be allowed back into the SNP, The National understands.
The MP was suspended in November when he was the party’s candidate for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. Nicola Sturgeon moved quickly to revoke his membership when social media posts “in direct contravention of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism” came to light.
One of those posts compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians to Nazi Germany’s massacre of Jews.
The other was a cartoon of Jewish financier George Soros as a puppet-master controlling global leaders – a popular antisemitic trope. Hanvey admitted at the time that his Israel post was “insensitive, upsetting and deeply offensive”.
READ MORE: Local branch urges SNP to lift suspension of MP Neale Hanvey
Because his suspension came after the closing date for nominations, his name remained on the ballot paper as the SNP candidate. He then went on to defeat Labour’s Lesley Laird to win the seat with a majority of just 1243.
The National understands that members of the SNP’s Conduct Committee met on Saturday and discussed Hanvey’s suspension. It’s believed a decision has been made but not yet communicated to the MP.
An SNP Westminster source told The National they thought Hanvey would be brought back in to the party: “He was suspended for stupidity, not anti-semitism. He’s been elected, he’s not a bad guy."
In January, the SNP constituency party backed Hanvey’s return to the fold.
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