Labour candidate suspended after 'pro-Russia posts'
A Labour candidate has been suspended after sharing pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings
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A Labour candidate has been suspended after sharing pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings.
Andy Brown was disowned by the party in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency following reports he shared an article from Russian state media outlet RT which claimed the “toxin” used in the poisonings was “never produced in Russia, but was in service in the US, UK, and other Nato states”.
44-year-old Dawn Sturgess died after being exposed to the nerve agent Novichok, which had been left in a discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury, Wiltshire, in July 2018.
It came after the attempted murders of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and ex-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March that year.
A Labour candidate has been suspended after sharing pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings.
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All three survived, as did Sturgess’s boyfriend, Charlie Rowley.
Despite being suspended by the party, Brown will still appear on the ballot paper on July 4 due to the deadline for nominations having passed, but he will not receive the backing of Labour.
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: “Andy Brown has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party pending investigation.
“We have taken the decision to withdraw support from a Parliamentary candidate during a General Election.
“Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer have changed the Labour Party and said that every candidate and MP would operate to the highest standards. This action shows that they meant it.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is “very, very pleased” that the candidate has been suspended after pro-Russia posts appearing to play down the country’s role in the Salisbury poisonings.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Reeves said: “I hadn’t heard of this guy until this morning and I’m very, very pleased that I will hopefully not have to hear of him again because he’s been suspended as a Labour candidate.
“That is absolutely right. We’ve taken the swift action.
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“As soon as these postings came to light, we got rid of him.”
She added: “People who don’t share our values in the changed Labour Party are kicked out of the Labour Party, while the Conservative Party continues to harbour people like Liz Truss, who has caused so much damage to the lives of working people up and down the country.”