Kenny MacAskill has seen off an attempt to suspend him from Alba as tensions in the party grow ahead of a leadership contest.
Chris McEleny, the party’s general secretary, is said to have tried to ban the interim leader over “allegations of bullying and harassment”.
MacAskill , a former SNP Justice secretary, said the attempt to suspend him from meetings was “unauthorised and unconstitutional.” But he will need to go before the party’s disciplinary committee for “alluding that senior Alba Party members were fascist.”
MacAskill is running against Edinburgh MSP Ash Regan to succeed Alex Salmond as party leader.
McEleny said in an email that he had “notified Mr Kenny MacAskill that he was suspended from attending any party meeting until the completion of the process that is investigating allegations of Bullying & Harassment against him.”
The email had been sent in “strict confidence due to the sensitivity regarding the individual involved.”
But MacAskill said McEleny had acted beyond his powers. He told The National: “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 said: “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.”
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