A SNP MSP, who was expelled for postings on social media about the Israel-Gaza conflict, says he still stands by his comments.
John Mason said that he was “extremely disappointed” at being expelled but “happy” to repeat his comments that led to the initial suspension.
The Glasgow Shettleston MSP was relieved of the whip in August after a post by X stating that “there is no genocide in Gaza”.
He said that he would consider appealing his expulsion. This was confirmed by Saturday.
The SNP has said that they cannot comment on the ongoing disciplinary processes.
A spokesperson for the SNP Chief Whip described Mason’s remarks as “utterly abhorrent” at the time of Mason’s initial suspension.
‘Extremely disappointing’
Mason, who was an SNP MSP since 1996, told BBC Radio Good Morning Scotland that he was expelled because of a disagreement about the definition of an important word: genocide. “To be excluded for this reason is extremely frustrating.”
He said that he was “happy to” repeat his claims.
“There’s a war going,” said the MSP who will now be sitting at Holyrood in an independent capacity.
“Living has been lost, tragically, in Ukraine and in every war.
“But there’s a difference between a war and genocidal acts, and to say every war is genocidal is not how we use this word.”
He said that he “totally regrets” the loss of lives, but that Israel feels very threatened.
Mason told the BBC that “we don’t usually say that the bombings of German cities were genocide. We don’t often say that Hiroshima is genocide. These are acts of war that may be disproportionate.”
“Genocide” is a serious word, he said. “To mix up the words war and genocide is not accurate.”
The SNP Member Conduct Committee that ruled Mason should be expelled accused Mason of claiming that he was the “arbiter”, of what is considered genocide. They described this as “unacceptable” and “offensive”.
In a letter sent to the MSP, it was also stated that he had misrepresented SNP policies and had shown “no regret”.
Mason denied claiming he was the “arbiter of what is genocide” and called on the party to “tolerance” in such matters.
He said that the SNP should have a “big-tent” approach, adding: “On such issues that are not central for independence, we should give a little latitude so that nobody is the arbiter on a word like genocidal.”
The Shettleston MSP said that he supported his party’s call for a two state solution to the conflict but said that he did not fully understand the policy of the party with which he is accused.
Mason, 67 years old, said that he has already decided to retire after the next election scheduled for 2026.
He was given 21 days to appeal, but said he was prepared to serve the remainder of his term as an Independent.
The MSP said: “If I’m independent, I have a little more freedom, but I will do everything I can to support SNP.”
Hamas‘s unprecedented assault on southern Israel, 7 October 2023, resulted in the death of 1,200 people and the capture of 251 hostages.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, since then, more than 42, 000 people have died in Gaza.
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