John Swinney has been told he has no option but to sack the SNP MSPs sitting on Holyrood’s equalities committee or else the public will conclude “he has no respect for women or the rule of law”.
Scottish Conservative MSP Tess White has today written to the First Minister after the three SNP members – Karen Adam, Evelyn Tweed and Marie McNair – voted against her motion to remove Green MSP Maggie Chapman as deputy convener.
The shadow equalities minister’s motion, which was defeated by four votes to three, came in the wake of Maggie Chapman’s response to the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman, in which she accused the court of “bigotry, prejudice and hatred”.
Despite John Swinney branding Maggie Chapman’s comments wrong and saying that “at no stage should we question the independence of the justiciary and the judicial system”, SNP MSPs on the committee defied him and ensured she remained in post.
Tess White said their actions were a humiliating snub to John Swinney, but more importantly brought the Scottish Parliament into disrepute and were another insult to women.
Scottish Conservative shadow equalities minister Tess White said: “John Swinney must finally show some backbone and remove the SNP members of the equalities committee who openly defied him by shamefully backing Maggie Chapman.
“If he fails to remove and replace them, he will be sending out the message that he has no respect for women or the rule of law.
“Maggie Chapman’s comments were an outrageous attack on the highest court in the land and demonstrated her utter contempt for women and girls.
“She is an extreme gender ideologue who is unfit to hold a key position on the equalities committee.
“By defending the indefensible, the three SNP members have brought parliament into disrepute.
“Their positions are now as untenable as Maggie Chapman’s. John Swinney must recognise this and act. That’s why I have written to him today.”