An SNP MP has apologised for an “appalling” tweet about shamed Tory Owen Paterson.
Kirsty Blackman deleted a social media post which made a political point about suicide in the wake of Paterson’s own wife killing herself.
Paterson resigned as an MP this week after Boris Johnson u-turned to allow a fresh vote on the former minister’s Commons suspension over breaching lobbying rules.
The Prime Minister had initially supported an attempt by Paterson’s allies to review the sanction, but changed course after a furious public backlash.
Rather than face a likely defeat in the vote, Paterson said he had made the “painful decision” to resign as the MP for North Shropshire, triggering a by-election.
Paterson also claimed recently that the standards investigation into him had contributed to his wife Rose’s suicide.
Blackman, the SNP MP for Aberdeen North, took to Twitter yesterday about the Paterson saga.
She wrote: “Missed your bus because your wife committed suicide and so you were two minutes late to your job centre appointment? - SANCTIONED.
“Lobby the Government on behalf of companies who pay you £9k a month? oh, you poor lamb, no sanction for you.”
Hours later, she retracted the tweet: “After some reflection, I have deleted a tweet I made earlier. I offer my unreserved apologies for tweeting it, particularly to anyone who may have been upset or offended. I’m sorry.”
Twitter users criticised the post, with one describing her initial tweet as “appalling”.
Labour's Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: "To put a tweet out talking about suicide when Owen Paterson's wife did commit suicide is just completely and utterly inappropriate.
"I'm glad she has deleted it. We're only a few weeks away since the death of David Amess, we're all supposed to be tempering our language and treating each other with a bit more respect and trying to take the heat out of politics.
"It's not a good look to do it within weeks of that."
Scottish Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said: “This was a deeply inappropriate tweet from this senior SNP MP. She should have recognised this language was wholly unacceptable, no matter how high passions were running.
“Her apology appears to have only come belatedly after a continued backlash against her post throughout the day.”
Paterson was found to have repeatedly lobbied ministers and officials for two companies paying him more than £100,000 per year.
Johnson is reportedly coming under fire from his MP colleagues for at first trying to review the punishment.
One Cabinet Minister was quoted in the Times saying the handling of the affair had been an “absolute disaster”.
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