Veteran SNP MSP John Mason stripped of party whip over Gaza remarks

Key Points

SNP MSP John Mason stripped of whip after remarks on Gaza
Party condemns ‘abhorrent’ comments on social media
Row over meeting with Israeli deputy ambassador
First Minister said meeting was ‘necessary’ to put across need for ceasefire

John Mason MSP has been stripped of the SNP whip with immediate effect over remarks he made about Gaza on social media.

The member for Glasgow Shettleston made the comments over reaction to Scottish External Affairs Secretary, Angus Robertson’s meeting with the deputy ambassador of Israel.

A spokesperson for the SNP Chief Whip said on Saturday morning that there can be “no room” in the party for “this kind of intolerance”.

In a statement to STV News, Mason said he is “obviously disappointed” about the decision but that it will “work its way through the Party process in the usual way”.

He added that “too many lives have already been lost” in the conflict and his “primary desire” was for peace in the region.

However, Mason also said: “I personally do not believe that Israel has tried to commit, has committed, or is committing genocide. They certainly have the ability to kill many more Palestinians than they have done. That is not to say that the loss of life already is not too many. ”

Robertson met Daniela Grudsky in Edinburgh last week, as did Mason – despite opposition from within the party, which has consistently called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Daniela Grudsky posted a photo of the meeting with Angus Robertson. X/@DanielaGrudsky

Mason, the member for Glasgow Shettleston, posted to X (formerly Twitter): “If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.”

It was in response to former SNP MSP Sandra White, who said: “We know what Israelis hope to achieve they are already committing Genocide in Gaza. Talk? You mention Talk whilst innocent children are being massacred.”

If Israel wanted to commit genocide, they would have killed ten times as many.
— John Mason (@JohnMasonMSP) August 16, 2024

The full statement reads: “To flippantly dismiss the death of more than 40,000 Palestinians is completely unacceptable. There can be no room in the SNP for this kind of intolerance.

“The Chief Whip has today withdrawn the whip from John Mason MSP with immediate effect, pending internal Parliamentary Group due process.

“The SNP Group will now meet to discuss the matter, with a recommendation that the Whip be suspended from John Mason for a fixed period of time because of this utterly abhorrent comment.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 8, during which over 1,000 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the territory says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.

Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 Hamas militants in the war, without providing evidence.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney said Robertson’s meeting with Ms Grudsky was “necessary” and allowed the Scottish Government to put across the need for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

His intervention came after Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer accused the Scottish Government of taking a “two-faced approach” by publicly condemning the actions of Israel while conducting secret meetings.