CHRIS McEleny has been expelled from Alba following an investigation into “gross misconduct” by the former general secretary, the party has confirmed.
In February, it was announced that McEleny, who served as Alba’s general secretary for the entirety of Alex Salmond’s leadership, had been fired from his paid party position and that his membership was being reviewed.
The National can reveal that following complaints made to the parties' conduct committee, McEleny has now been expelled from Alba.
It is understood that McEleny’s expulsion was in part due to his comments made in an interview with Sky News in the run-up to the Alba leadership election, where he said, “Kenny will look back and regret some of the actions of the previous month”.
He also implied during the interview that the now Alba leader, Kenny MacAskill, was “not acting rational” and that he was “not fit to lead the party”.
There had been claims by some members in Alba that MacAskill had been suspended from the party after accusations of bullying and harassment were levelled against him.
However, MacAskill denied the bullying claims and said that the alleged attempt to suspend him were made by an “individual acting outwith the limits of their powers”.
It is understood that McEleny (below) has 21 days to appeal his expulsion if he wishes to do so, which he said he will “consider” in the coming weeks.
McEleny said: “I’m obviously very upset to be expelled from the party Alex and I built to ensure that Scottish independence was delivered.
“I will consider an appeal over the coming weeks.”
Speaking with The National at the All Under One Banner march in Glasgow on Saturday, MacAskill confirmed McEleny’s expulsion from Alba.
He said: “That's a matter that the party has made a decision on.
“There's really no further comment I could make, there are democratic party procedures, and they've been followed.”
MacAskill (below) added: “There were complaints made, and they have acted upon him.”
A friend of Chris McEleny has criticised the party’s decision, calling it a “sign of weakness”.
They said: “It’s ironic that Chris has been expelled from the party he and Alex Salmond created for saying he was going to write a book about Alex Salmond’s life, and further on the same week Kenny MacAskill has been defending the right of the band Kneecap to shout pro Hamas slogans and to say Tory MPs should be killed, Chris has been expelled for saying something that hurt Kenny’s feelings.
They added: “Perhaps he should wear a Saltire balaclava going forward and then he will be allowed to rejoin. This decision is an ultimate sign of weakness on the part of Alba’s leadership.
“If Alex Salmond had adopted the approach of expelling people from the SNP that he didn’t get on with then he would’ve expelled Kenny MacAskill several times over throughout a period of 20 years that Kenny briefed against him and was critical of his leadership to the press.”
