SNP MP Ian Blackford apologises for Covid travel breach claim
The SNP's Westminster leader has apologised after being accused of bullying a photographer who he suggested may have broken Covid rules.
Ian Blackford posted a tweet claiming that Ollie Taylor lives in the south of England, and questioned why he had taken a photograph of the Northern Lights in Caithness. But Mr Taylor said he moved to Caithness earlier this year. Mr Blackford has since deleted his tweet and apologised to Mr Taylor. Speaking to the Press and Journal newspaper, Mr Taylor said he had tweeted a photograph of the Northern Lights that had been taken about five minutes away from his house in the Highlands. He accused Mr Blackford of "trying to stir up public hatred" against him. And he said the MP could have "saved himself a bit of embarrassment" by messaging him privately about his concerns rather than tweeting publicly. Mr Blackford had tweeted in response to Mr Taylor's photograph: "As you live in the south of England and travel to Scotland is only for permitted reasons I am sure there will be a valid reason as to why you are posting a photo from the north of Scotland last night?" After facing a backlash from other Twitter users, some of whom accused him of attempting to orchestrate an online "pile-on", Mr Blackford deleted the tweet. He also posted an apology to Mr Taylor, saying: "As the local MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber I know my constituents feel very strongly about the breaking of travel restrictions that we see across the Highlands and islands, which puts people's lives and our public services at risk. "I will continue to stand up for my constituents who frequently raise these concerns with me but I recognise that it was wrong to query an individual on Twitter and I apologise to @OllieTPhoto for my earlier post, which I have deleted." Mr Blackford's constituency does not include Caithness. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said Mr Blackford had "picked on and bullied" a private citizen by "accusing him of breaking the travel restrictions when he had no evidence of him doing so". Mr Rennie added: "Ian Blackford has form for his remarks about people from England who happen to be in Scotland. "This behaviour could only add to the problems of anti-English sentiment in Scotland." 'Grace and dignity' Scottish Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton later asked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon whether she backed the "vigilante action" taken by Mr Blackford when he accused the photographer of breaking travel rules. The first minister praised Mr Blackford's "grace and dignity" and said he had done the right thing in apologising for "doing something he recognised he should not have done". Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said Ms Sturgeon should have "called out" the SNP MP for "harassing a private citizen". She said: "Ian Blackford should be ashamed of himself. He purposely went after an individual who simply wanted to share a lovely photo on Twitter for people to enjoy. "I'm afraid it is the same old story with the SNP - stoke up division, and when challenged, simply hold up their hands feigning innocence. It is pathetic."