I think this guy may have had a point.....the media seems to be conspiring against the SNP
Alex Salmond under pressure to sack Lyall Duff over Catholic midwife attack Alex Salmond is under pressure to sack an SNP council candidate after he described two Catholic midwives who took legal action for the right to boycott abortions as “money-grabbing old witches”.
Lyall Duff, who is standing for the Nationalists in North Lanarkshire, suggested Mary Doogan and Concepta Wood should be fired and forced to become cleaners. He urged NHS bosses to “show them what a mop and bucket look like.”
Pouring scorn on their claims to be “conscientious objectors”, he compared them to animal lovers working in an abattoir and questioned why they chose to join the health service in the first place.
In a series of expletive-ridden rants posted on the internet, Mr Duff also said that RBS branch staff should be burned and attacked Scotland supporters at Murrayfield attending this year’s Calcultta Cup match against England.
However, he promised voters reading his local SNP branch website that if elected he would “tackle any issues you many have in an honest, professional, proactive manner.” Mr Duff last night said he could not remember whether he made the comments.
But the Catholic Church last night said they displayed a deep-seated “bigotry” and warned the religion’s followers would abandon the SNP if he was retained as a candidate for the Murdostoun ward in May’s elections.
The emergence of his comments is a blow for the First Minister’s hopes of the SNP taking control of North Lanarkshire Council from Labour as nominations for candidates closed last week.
This means Mr Duff's name will appear on the ballot paper as a Nationalist candidate, although the party could refuse to fund his campaign.The furore could also damage Mr Salmond's hopes of victory in Glasgow, which has a large Catholic population.
It is the latest in a series of incidents exposing the extreme views of the SNP’s ‘Cyber Nat’ wing, which uses the internet to pour vile abuse on its political targets.
Last month Thomas Ball resigned as a party activist after stating on Twitter that six British soldiers who died in Afghanistan deserved no sympathy because they were a “bunch of child killers”.
Mr Duff posted his comments on the social networking website Facebook between January 19 and Sunday this week, with the first entry including his views on the nurses.
The midwifery sisters unsuccessfully argued in court they were entitled to refuse to have anything to do with staff taking part in abortions or providing care to patients during the process.
“What did these two ladies expect when they chose that career 30-plus years ago? Would they join the army as conscientious objectors, work in an abatior (sic) as animal lovers?” Mr Duff asked.
“Sack the money-grabbing old witches and make them pay back every penny they earned in disgust going their career choice and on they way out of the hospital introduce them to hand washing and show them what a mop and bucket look like.”
On February 24, he said RBS branch staff were “headless chickens” selling rubbish to their customers. “Burn them,” he urged before concluding they are “Scotland’s shame”.
In another post earlier that month, he launched a diatribe littered with four-letter words against Fred Goodwin and said the former RBS chief executive and his family should be thrown onto the streets.
Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church, said: “What is most disturbing with these comments are that they display a bigotry which indicate a deep seated intolerance of others.
“We assume, as regards the SNP, it is his political career that is over, for the Nationalists cannot afford to endanger their honeymoon relationship with the Catholic and pro-life communities.”
Mark Griffin, a Labour MSP for Central Scotland, said: “It is probably the most disgusting abuse ever levelled by a mainstream candidate in Scotland.
“The SNP must expel this man from their party today and they should apologise for recommending him for public office. They must answer very serious questions about why he was allowed to stand in the first place.”
Frank Roy, the Labour MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, added: “Staff working in the bank branches are not responsible for the mistakes of Fred Goodwin and should not be threatened with any kind of attack, let alone being burned down.”
Mr Duff, of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, last night told the Daily Telegraph he "cannot remember" making the comments but could not explain why they had been posted on a Facebook account with his name.
Pressed whether he had made the remarks, he said: "I've just no comment on that, no comment at all." Mr Duff then said he would contact SNP headquarters.
An SNP spokesman said: "Mr Duff has been suspended from membership of the SNP pending a full investigation into the comments attributed to him, which are wholly unacceptable."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politic ... ttack.html
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