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Fife Alba MP slammed for ‘belittling’ Afghan crisis

Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Neale Hanvey
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Neale Hanvey

Alba MP Neale Hanvey has been branded a “disgrace” by his former party after being accused of “belittling” the plight of Afghan women.

In a Tweet that now appears to have been deleted, Mr Hanvey said he found it “tough to listen” to Westminster SNP leader Ian Blackford “opining on protecting women”.

He accused Mr Blackford of having “deaf ears” to girls and women’s concerns “at home” as the member addressed the House of Commons during a debate on the UK Government’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The former Fife SNP group leader is a vocal critic of the party’s stance on gender recognition and said he had left with his “principals intact” after joining Alex Salmond’s Alba group, accusing his previous party colleagues of being “toxic, aggressive and hostile”.

Afghanistan debate

Mr Blackford told the Commons: “We watched as girls were able to receive an education as women were able to excel in so many fields for a light to be lit pointing a path to a brighter future for so many to benefit from the freedom of opportunity.

“That light has been extinguished.

“The future for so many women and girls is one of a dark foreboding future.

“We have let them down.

“It is now time to do the right thing by them.

“For those deserving and in need of our aid and support, now is the moment to act.”

‘Deaf ears’

Taking to social media afterward, Mr Hanvey posted: “Not to diminish the extant horrors in Afghanistan for women, girls and LGBT people in any way, but Ian Blackford opining on protecting women and girls is a tough listen given the deaf ears to such concerns at home.”

Mr Hanvey subsequently tweeted: “Many women in Scotland feel their rights are under attack. Only last week the Scottish Government published new guidance to allow children as young as four to change their gender without parental knowledge or consent.

“However important this debate is to the rights of women, girls and many in the LGBT community across Scotland, it is right today to focus on the Afghanistan debate.”

Sacked from front-bench

The criticism is the latest faced by Mr Hanvey since his election to Westminster in December 2019.

He was voted in by the people of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath as an independent — although appeared on the ballot paper as an SNP candidate — after anti-semitic social media posts were uncovered, for which he apologised.

After being readmitted to the party following an investigation and training on anti-semitism, he was sacked from the SNP front-bench after donating to a crowd fund campaign to sue Aberdeen SNP MP Kirsty Blackman.

He defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba party before the Scottish election in May, where he stood unsuccessfully on the regional list

An SNP source said: “This is a disgraceful tweet. Women and girls in Afghanistan are currently fearing for their life, their terrifying situation should not be belittled in any way.”

Mr Hanvey was approached for comment.