SNP minister condemns his own father over an anti-Semitic post of a Swastika ... trends now
An SNP minister was yesterday forced to condemn an anti-Semitic post shared on his father's Facebook page.
Community Wealth & Public Finance minister Tom Arthur broke cover to criticise fellow SNP member Tom Arthur Snr over the post at the centre of a Swastika hate crime row.
In a humiliating public statement, Mr Arthur admitted the offensive image posted by his father falls 'far short' of his own stance against discrimination.
The SNP also slammed the vile meme as it confirmed Arthur Snr had quit the party in disgrace.
It comes after the Mail yesterday revealed the 72-year-old had shared an image of the Israeli flag that merged the Nazi symbol with the Star of David.
SNP Minister Tom Arthur, who supported his party's controversial hate crime law, poses with his father at Holyrood before Mail exposed vile Facebook posts
The 72-year-old shared an image of the Israeli flag that merged the Nazi symbol with the Star of David
The woman who complained about the post said Police Scotland refused to investigate it under the new hate crime law as she is not Jewish.
But the force last night did a partial U-turn and opened a fresh investigation into the post under the Communications Act.
In an explosive statement on the scandal yesterday, Mr Arthur said: 'As an SNP MSP, I stand against discrimination of any kind.
'The online post shared by a family member falls far short of that position and I condemn the views expressed.
'Six months on from Hamas's barbaric terrorist attack which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 innocent civilians,
I will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for a permanent two-state solution to pave the way towards peace in the region.'
SNP chiefs revealed Arthur Snr was a party member when the offending image was posted last week, only hours after the new Hate Crime Act came into force.
A spokesman said: 'The SNP stands firmly against anti-Semitism.
'The social media post is unacceptable and would have been subject to disciplinary investigation had the individual not resigned their party membership with immediate effect.'
Last night, Arthur Snr's Facebook account had been wiped, but it emerged he had regularly posted abhorrent material, including the claim that the October 7 attacks were a hoax.
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: 'It's now apparent this was just one of many such anti-Semitic attacks, including disgusting conspiracy theories about Hamas atrocities on October 7th.
'The minister cannot be held responsible for his relative's conduct, but given these vile views were posted publicly alongside mainstream SNP material, it's reasonable to ask why neither he nor anyone else in the SNP thought to challenge this until now.'
He added: 'Humza Yousaf was repeatedly warned his hate crime law would put Police Scotland under significant pressure, and that is exactly what's
