SNP members move to suspend Robertson over Israel meeting

SNP members are moving to suspend a leading MSP from his cabinet role as internal pressure grows over his meeting with an Israeli diplomat.
A branch of the party has lodged a motion of censure against Angus Robertson, the external affairs secretary, and alleged that he has brought the nationalists into disrepute by holding talks with Daniela Grudsky, deputy Israeli ambassador to the UK, this month.
Infighting over the Middle East has intensified within the SNP over the past week and John Mason, the Glasgow MSP, had the whip at Holyrood suspended on Saturday over comments he made about the conflict in Gaza.
Activists and former parliamentarians have rounded on Mason and Robertson on social media. Some are now asking questions of the entire party leadership after The Sunday Mail reported that the first minister, John Swinney, had asked Robertson to attend the meeting.
The Scottish government confirmed that Grudsky had initially asked to meet Swinney but that diplomatic protocol dictated that she meet Robertson instead.
The Sunday Mail quoted what it called a senior source saying: “This revelation will cause more mayhem. Anyone calling for Robertson’s resignation has to call for the first minister’s as well.”
Shona Robison, the finance secretary, told The Sunday Show on BBC Radio Scotland that Robertson had spoken to the Israelis to pass on the Scottish government’s “principled” stance on Gaza.
Recognising that some SNP members were “upset”, Robison said: “The meeting was held for Angus Robertson to convey the very strong position that there should be a stop to the killing.”
The motion of censure says that action should be taken because Robertson held the meeting despite the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court, having ruled last month that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories was unlawful.
Proposed by the party’s Dalkeith branch, the motion argues that the fact that areas of co-operation to benefit both Scotland and Israel were discussed went against the court’s recommendation that states avoid any action, including aid or assistance, that would help to maintain the present situation.
It highlights “impassioned” speeches at last year’s conference by Humza Yousaf, then first minister, and his wife Nadia El-Nakla, a councillor in Dundee whose parents were trapped in Gaza after Israel attacked in response to the October 7 assault by Hamas. El- Nakla has already publicly criticised Robertson.
“The SNP has led on condemnation of these actions in Gaza and the public trust us to take a moral standpoint,” the motion says. “The SNP leadership must at all times follow and reflect the wishes of its members as expressed at conference.
“To agree to a meeting for any purpose, other than to singularly condemn the actions of the current government within Israel, is a breach of that trust, trust placed in the hands of senior ministers by both party members and the electorate.”
The motion makes two “demands”. One is that Robertson should be investigated by the SNP’s conduct committee for “bringing the party into disrepute”. The other is that he should be suspended as a minister pending a Scottish government investigation.
Other SNP members and organisations, including Scots Asians for Independence, are helping the Dalkeith branch to drum up support for the motion in an effort to have it heard at the party’s conference, which takes place in Edinburgh from August 30 to September 1.
The Sunday Mail also quoted SNP insiders saying that the meeting with the Israelis was proving a “last straw” for some activists and party members.
The Mail on Sunday reported that the veteran MSP Christine Grahame had written to Swinney to complain about the Robertson meeting.
“I have been out and about on my summer surgery tour,” she told him in a leaked email. “At every stop where there were people meeting me … shocked at this apparent endorsement by the SNP.”
She added: “I note you have supported AR [Robertson] but will also know of resignations from members in the party. I have long considered AR a luxury the front bench does not need. He is now in my view a liability.”
Scottish ministers, like their UK counterparts, routinely meet the envoys of governments with which they disagree.
In recent years senior figures have held talks with diplomats from countries such as China, India and Turkey, usually to discuss issues arising from devolved areas of government, such as policing and justice. Insiders stress that Scottish officials raise human rights with authoritarian regimes.
Robertson, who worked as a diplomatic correspondent before entering politics, is the main point of contact for overseas envoys. He has a track record of engaging with officials in the Middle East and personally pioneered SNP links with the Palestinians.