ALBA’S leadership contest has descended into chaos after accusations of bullying and harassment were levelled against top contender Kenny MacAskill.
MacAskill, the party’s acting leader, said there had been an “unauthorised and unconstitutional attempt” to suspend him from attending Alba meetings.
The former MP is running against Edinburgh MSP Ash Regan to succeed the late Alex Salmond.
Alba members were informed he had been barred from attending party meetings amid an investigation – but MacAskill claimed that he had successfully challenged this.
General secretary Chris McEleny emailed a group of senior Alba members on Saturday to say that MacAskill faced “allegations of bullying and harassment”.
In the email, sent to members in “strict confidence” and seen by The National, McEleny said he had informed MacAskill of the ban the previous day.
In an email to The National on Tuesday, MacAskill said: “An unauthorised and unconstitutional attempt was made to allegedly suspend me, Kenny MacAskill, by an individual acting outwith the limits of their powers.
“The attempt was firmly rebutted by the [national executive committee] and the matter is now being dealt with internally.
“It is not appropriate for me to comment on internal disciplinary matters.”
An Alba party spokesperson largely echoed MacAskill, stating: “The proposal put to the NEC was unauthorised, unconstitutional and outwith powers of the general secretary.
“It was in any event firmly rebutted by the NEC as are further allegations. This is now the subject of internal disciplinary proceedings and we cannot comment further.”
McEleny had told members that the former East Lothian MP had been spared a full suspension from Alba “due to the sensitivity of [his] role”.
McEleny also said that MacAskill was accused of “alluding that senior Alba Party members were fascist as reported in the press as a result of social media commentary”.
This is understood to relate to comments made after Regan wrote to Tesla chief executive and far-right backer Elon Musk asking him to build a factory in Scotland.
Party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and MacAskill were both informed of the allegations and subsequent action last Friday, McEleny said.
The general secretary also said that he had requested the minutes and notes of decisions taken at a meeting of the party’s national executive committee on January 4, saying he had “reason to believe” that MacAskill had “misled committee members, encouraged them to act unlawfully and in doing so has exposed all members of the executive to substantial financial liabilities”.
MacAskill, who is currently serving as Alba’s acting leader, had entered the party into “substantial debt” by seeking legal advice “in regards to variance matters including their own personal liabilities”, McEleny claimed.
McEleny said he did not know how much the alleged debt was or whether it was an “ongoing matter” and was therefore unable to tell the finance and audit committee for how much the party could be on the hook.
The party treasurer was “not consulted on nor did he approve” money to be spent on legal fees, McEleny alleged.
In the email, McEleny added: “As above, I stress that this remains a private and confidential matter and no discussion should take place by members of the NEC with anyone that would undermine the confidentiality of the above process.”
It comes after leaked emails showed that MacAskill had accused Salmond of misusing party resources to fund his Edinburgh Fringe show – and called some party members a “fan club” for the former first minister.
MacAskill quit his job as convenor of the finance and audit committee, according to the Sunday Mail, after a furious row with Salmond about his The Ayes Have It! show in August 2023. However, he was convinced to stay in post.
The former East Lothian MP claimed that Alba employees who should have been busy on a by-election campaign were instead being used to “chauffeur” guests onto the political talk show, which featured figures like former Commons speaker John Bercow and actor Brian Cox, the paper reported.
