THE Scottish Tories have been left fuming after the SNP appointed an interim chief executive who previously suggested that the monarchy should be executed.
On Saturday, the SNP announced that Carol Beattie, the former chief executive of Stirling Council, had been appointed as the party’s interim chief executive. It came after Murray Foote resigned the position on Friday, and the party’s national executive committee met to decide on its next steps.
Beattie’s appointment has drawn anger from the Conservatives after comments she made on social media over the summer came into the spotlight.
In June, the Telegraph’s Allison Pearson wrote an article on the Princess of Wales in which she said: “When lesser mortals would have stayed at home, Catherine proved that the show goes on.”
However, Pearson’s suggestion that “lesser mortals with [Kate’s] illness would have stayed home” sparked widespread backlash – with Republic chief executive Graham Smith calling it “offensive to millions of people who have to live with cancer”.
Beattie also criticised the Telegraph article, writing: “F*** all the way off with your gold plated serfdom!
“Time for the French solution to monarchy and sycophantic ‘journalists’.”
Beattie was also reported to have written on social media that “intelligent people don’t support the monarchy” and that those who do “use them as symbols of their bigotry or xenophobic values”.
She apologised for “any offence caused by the language I used” and removed the posts, but the Tories have hit out.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesperson Craig Hoy raged: “Carol Beattie's shameful conduct and her endorsement of deeply offensive comments has no place in politics.
“It simply demonstrates the lack of morals at the top of the SNP hierarchy.”
Beattie had run for the SNP in the Falkirk South by-election, narrowly losing out to Scottish Labour in the seventh round of the vote count on Friday.
