THE SNP operation in the Yes heartland of North Lanarkshire has become so dysfunctional it is now effectively beyond repair, according to a party whistleblower.
Councillor Cammie McManus, who quit the SNP after raising concerns about a sex pest only to be punished by the party himself, said the situation was irredeemably “toxic”.
He said the SNP hierarchy had ignored multiple sexual misconduct complaints about former council Jordan Linden, attributing it to “a sense of protectionism” in Linden’s favour.
He said the party had avoided dealing with the issue and others in North Lanarkshire for years, and seemed more concerned about bad headlines than doing the right thing.
He also said the party nationally had failed to follow its own policies on safeguarding.
The Scottish Tories said his comment exposed a "shocking failure" to deal with sexual misconduct allegations.
North Lanarkshire was one of just four of 32 councils to vote for Yes in the 2014 independence referendum, alongside Glasgow, Dundee and West Dunbartonshire.
At last year’s local elections, the SNP gained control of North Lanarkshire from Labour and Cllr Linden was installed as its 45,000-a-year leader.
However he quit within weeks after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him.
He admitted causing a teenage boy “a sense of discomfort which I entirely regret” in 2019.
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