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Daily Record
Politics
Andrew Quinn

SNP MP Angus MacNeil suspended after he accuses chief whip of 'bullying'

SNP MP Angus MacNeil has been suspended from the party's Westminster group for a week after he accused the chief whip of "bullying".

MacNeil had been involved in a public bust up with Brendan O'Hara after he missed key parliamentary votes to go on a £7,000 paid trip to Qatar in May.

He had accused O'Hara of "bullying" after the pair fell out in the Commons division lobby on Monday.

The SNP confirmed that MacNeil had been suspended for a week with immediate effect.

MacNeil said he "accepts the decision" but that he sees the situation differently from the group's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.

An SNP source said the discussions between the leader and the MP were "very amicable".

MacNeil said: "Stephen has his views and I have mine, but as leader he has his own pressures to balance and so I accept the decision he has taken.”

The Western Isles MP accused O'Hara of "bullying" after the pair clashed in the House of Commons on Monday.

Disciplinary notices sent by O'Hara to MacNeil were also claimed to have been thrown across the floor.

A senior SNP source said the notices were about MacNeil missing votes on the Retained EU Law Bill in May because he was on a paid for trip to Qatar.

SNP MPs had a three-line whip to attend the votes. A three-line whip means that it is mandatory to be there.

The MP attended the Bloomberg Qatar Economic Forum and met Qatari and international officials between May 20 and 24.

He was there "to discuss current affairs including regional conflict resolution, labour rights and Qatar-UK bilateral relations", according to the MPs' register of interest.

MacNeil had his flights, accommodation and food paid for at a cost of £6,900.

The bill was picked up by Media City Qatar, whose chairman is Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

This was the third time that he has visited the Middle Eastern country this year.

Brendan O'Hara became Westminster SNP chief whip earlier this year (Sunday Mail)

MacNeil referred to the fallout with O'Hara on Twitter, claiming that O'Hara is a bully.

He said: "General advice - Always stand up to bullies - [especially] any abusing their positions - particularly those who scurry around shouting to anyone listening - 'I'll get him, I'll get him, I WILL get him! Mark my words'.

"These are people, who from school, we should get taught to face down."

Online blog Guido Fawkes reported that MacNeil shouted: "You're a small wee man!" several times at O'Hara before throwing the letters at him and storming off.

A senior SNP source said O'Hara was "getting called a bully for doing his job".

MacNeil, seen as a close ally of Alba leader and former First Minister Alex Salmond, has been a harsh critic of the SNP in recent months.

He has regularly spoken out against former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and current FM Humza Yousaf.

He was against the recently dropped Highly Protected Marine Areas policy and is vocal on Twitter over his support for using elections as de facto referendums.

He has represented the Western Isles since 2005, making him the joint second-longest serving SNP MP.

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