Two more election candidates in the north-east and the Northern Isles are embroiled in a row over “pro-Russia” posts on social media.
The SNP’s candidate in Orkney and Shetland and Labour’s election hopeful in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East shared doubts in the past that Russia was behind the 2018 Salisbury poisonings.
The Labour candidate, Andy Brown, was ditched by the party less than four hours after The Press and Journal revealed his past remarks.
It comes the day after we revealed Glen Reynolds, running for the SNP in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said he was “somewhat cynical” about anti-Putin commentary.
Robert Leslie, picked by the party to stand in Orkney and Shetland, is also under fire for controversial posts relating to the Russian regime.
In 2018, Mr Leslie suggested ex-Tory foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind had been sent out to “lie on behalf of the UK Government” about the Kremlin’s role in the Salisbury attacks.
It came just a month after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by a Russian-developed chemical weapon because he defected to the UK.
In another post that same month, Mr Leslie shared doubts over whether Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had carried out chemical weapons attacks.
He was criticised by Lib Dem candidate Alistair Carmichael, who said: “The person we elect on July 4 will also have to represent us at times of national and international importance.
“Matters of defence and security demand a rigorous examination of all the evidence, which is why the sentiments expressed in these tweets give some cause for concern.”
Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said: “The SNP candidate’s wild pro-Putin conspiracy theories lay bare his appalling judgment and anti-UK prejudices.”
Mr Leslie previously stood for the SNP in Orkney at the 2021 Holyrood vote, and ran against Mr Carmichael at the last Westminster election.
A spokesperson for Mr Leslie said: “Robert Leslie is a respected local journalist who is focused on the issues that matter to people in Orkney and Shetland.
“Robert unequivocally condemns the Putin regime’s actions and attended local protests to bar Russian vessels from our ports.
“In contrast, it was the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government that begged Vladimir Putin to help stop Scottish independence in 2014.”
Meanwhile, former Labour candidate Mr Brown – picked by the party to stand in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East – also appears to have doubted Russia’s role in the Salisbury attacks.
In 2018, he shared a link to state media outlet Russia Today suggesting the Novichok nerve agent used in the poisoning did not come from Russia.
He also shared a post on social media suggesting former Tory Prime Minister Theresa May was hiding vital information about the attacks.
North East Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden said: “This extremist Labour candidate is straight out of Corbyn-era central casting.
“Voters in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East will be appalled at Andy Brown spouting ludicrous conspiracy theories about the Salisbury poisoning.”
Labour confirmed Mr Brown had been suspended by the party, meaning support for him has been withdrawn.
A spokesperson said: “Andy Brown has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party pending investigation.
“We have taken the decision to withdraw support from a parliamentary candidate during a general election.
“Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer have changed the Labour Party and said that every candidate and MP would operate to the highest standards. This action shows that they meant it.”
The claims, which follow the comments by Mr Reynolds, spark fresh questions about the historic views of candidates toward Mr Putin’s regime.
The posts all came before Mr Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but after the Kremlin had seized Crimea in 2014.
The SNP responded with an attack on the Conservatives, pointing out that they had taken money from Russian oligarchs until the invasion of Ukraine.
Conversation