A Scottish Labour council candidate was axed for defending a soldier charged over the Bloody Sunday massacre and claiming the SNP want a “Catholic monarchy” in Scotland.
Vanessa Shand had been picked by the party to stand in Perth and Kinross but withdrew after the comments emerged.
According to the Daily Record, in a separate tweet the ex-council hopeful took a swipe at Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey for having Catholic parents from Northern Ireland.
Ms Shand used to have a logo reading “I Stand with Soldier F” on Twitter, referencing the former paratrooper charged over the Derry Bloody Sunday killings in 1972.
Soldier F faced accusations he murdered two people, but the charges against him were later dropped by a court.
An inquiry set up to probe the massacre claimed there was “no doubt” the paratrooper shot an unarmed man.
It’s understood a Scottish Labour member made complaints about Ms Shand’s tweets in 2020.
Criticising the SNP, she said: “So that’s the SNP’s game! They want to replace the UK monarchy with a catholic monarchy! Well I never.”
And tweeting Ms Long-Bailey, she wrote: “Says the daughter of NI catholic parents.”
‘Candidates must abide by our values’
A Scottish Labour spokesperson confirmed she is longer standing for the party in May’s election.
They said: “Every Scottish Labour candidate is expected to abide by our values – especially with regards to opposing forms of prejudice or hatred.
“The Scottish Labour Party will act on evidence that any candidate has fallen short of these standards.
“The person in question is no longer a Labour candidate.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “It’s welcome news that Vanessa Shand is no longer a candidate but it’s important that Scottish Labour reflect on how she ended up one in the first place.
‘Deeply divisive’
“It’s clear that Scottish Labour is desperate to find local council candidates but it should not mean that principles are an afterthought.
“Anas Sarwar’s party’s recent track record with deeply divisive candidates demonstrates that there is a problem running through Scottish Labour that needs to be addressed.”
Labour came under fire earlier this month after it emerged they were running a candidate who previously served as world leader of the Orange Order.
This morning we revealed that an SNP candidate admitted shouting abuse at the Pope and claimed 9/11 was an “inside job”.
Siobhan Tolland is standing for the party at May’s local council election in Dundee’s Lochee ward – an area with strong Irish and Catholic roots.