The Scottish Conservatives have today called on the SNP to follow Labour’s lead and ditch a controversial candidate who expressed pro-Putin sympathies.
Chairman Craig Hoy said it was “shameful” that the SNP were standing by their candidate in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Glen Reynolds, despite his “offensive” tweets, when Labour had taken “appropriate action” in suspending their candidate in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East for expressing similar views.
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “It’s shameful that the SNP are defending their candidate in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine for his offensive pro-Putin tweets.
“When Glen Reynolds posted these tweets defending Putin, the Russian leader had already invaded Crimea and was viewed as a global pariah.
“Labour took appropriate action by ditching their candidate in a neighbouring seat when similar pro-Putin posts from him came to light.
“The SNP should take similar action against Glen Reynolds. It’s disgraceful that they are standing by him and defending the indefensible.”
Notes to editors
SNP candidate Glen Reynolds fawned over Vladimir Putin
Glen Reynolds is the SNP candidate for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine. (Glen Reynolds, Twitter, Accessed 14 June 2024, https://x.com/glenreynoldsSNP. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="7">link).
Glen Reynolds criticised ‘anti Putin rhetoric’. Reynolds tweeted: ‘I remain somewhat cynical about the anti Russian anti Putin rhetoric.’ This tweet then shared an article from Seamus Milne entitled ‘demonisation of Russia risks paving the way for war’. (Guardian, 4 May 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/04/demonisation-russia-risks-paving-way-for-war. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="8">link; Glen Reynolds, Twitter, 6 March 2015, https://x.com/glenreynoldsSNP/status/573811556229775360. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="9">link).
Glen Reynolds fawned over a Vladimir Putin speech which he described as ‘significant and illuminating’. Reynolds tweeted: ‘If you have the time, do try and read Putin's speech here. Could be very significant and illuminating.’ The article he shared went on to say: ‘Putin's speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi last week is getting a lot of coverage, both in the alternative news sphere, and the Russophobic den of lies that is the corporate western mainstream presstitute [sic] media.’ (Sign of the Times, 29 October 2014, https://www.sott.net/article/288204-Play-time-is-over-children-Putins-message-to-the-Western-elites-is-most-important-since-Churchills-Iron-Curtain-speech. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="10">link; Glen Reynolds, Twitter, 9 November 2014, https://x.com/glenreynoldsSNP/status/531557325606506496. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="11">link).
Glen Reynolds praised Putin in what appears to be comments relating to the Syrian civil war. Reynolds tweeted: ‘and slowly the US wake up to the better of two evils that Putin understood [sic] a while back’. The comments were around the time that strikes against ISIS were ramping up and implies that Reynolds was referring to the choice of attacking ISIS rather than Assad. (Glen Reynolds, Twitter, 20 October 2015, https://x.com/glenreynoldsSNP/status/656515182609477633. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="12">link).
Labour candidate’s conspiracy theory about Russia’s Skripal attack
Andy Brown is Labour’s candidate in Aberdeenshire North & Moray East. (Scottish Labour, Twitter, 6 April 2024, https://twitter.com/ScottishLabour/status/1776523296646832400. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="0">link).
Andy Brown shared a Russia Today post which suggested the US & the UK are responsible for the Skripal attack. (Facebook, 14 April 2018, https://www.facebook.com/profile/100022972363973/search/?q=russia. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1">link).
Andy Brown shared a post on Facebook suggesting the UK lied about Russia’s responsibility for the Sergei Skripal attack. (Facebook, 11 April 2018, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1795730837155612&set=a.645305238864850. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="2">link).
Andy Brown shared a post which downplayed antisemitism and said that the real issue is that ‘right wing Jews’ oppose Palestinian rights. (Facebook, 10 April 2018, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1509819465813299&set=a.1231815470280368. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="3">link).