A former Nationalist MP was ridiculed last night after claiming British spies had “captured and controlled” the Scottish Government after infiltrating the SNP.
Campbell Martin alleged that security services ‘assets’ have risen through the party ranks to positions where they can influence policy.
The 63-year-old claimed the SNP’s focus on gender policies is being driven by agents of the British state in an attempt to make the party unelectable and discredit the idea of splitting the Union.
Other senior SNP figures have also stated that they believe MI5 has used secret agents to monitor the party.
But the wild conspiracy theory was roundly mocked when critics insisted the SNP did not need any outside help to “implode”.
Suspicions: Campbell Martin seen while still SNP MSP in 2004
‘Betrayed’: Alex Neil
Who they are, what positions they occupy and how many there are, we simply do not know.
Convinced: Jim Sillars
There were a couple of people in the group who I was absolutely sure were MI5 plants.
In an article published on an independence website this week, Martin said: “The SNP is completely compromised. It has been captured and controlled by the British state.
“The difference between those early days of the Scottish Parliament and today is that British state assets in the SNP have, over the years, risen through the ranks and now hold senior positions which have allowed them to influence policy and direction of the party, as well as adopting a lack of urgency in achieving independence.’
He added: “You have to hand it to the British state, which has played blindfolded: the current SNP is so corrupted by British agents that it has set aside independence and adopted gender policies that make the party unelectable.”
Martin was elected Nationalist MP in 2003 but was suspended a year later after criticizing John Swinney’s leadership of the party. He is a supporter of former First Minister Alex Salmond.
In an attempt to back up his view, Mr Martin pointed out that the secret service had spies in the IRA and the National Union of Mineworkers.
He said: ‘It would be more extraordinary if they ignored the SNP, which is a party that supposedly wants to divide the British state.
“If they hadn’t infiltrated that organization, something would be very wrong.”
Broadcaster Andrew Neil was quick to ridicule the claims on social media.
He wrote: ‘Former SNP MSP blames this year’s Scot Nat implosion on British spies who have allegedly infiltrated the party down to cabinet level?
‘I’m not sure MI5 is that good (although it is run by a Scot and a Glasgow University graduate). ‘I also don’t think the new Prime Minister and his supporters really needed help to implode his party.’
Referring to a motorhome worth £110,000 seized by police as part of their investigation into the SNP’s finances, Mr Neil added: “Was that unused SNP motorhome really an MI5 mobile listening post? I believe that we should tell each other.
Sharing an image of Humza Yousaf mocked up to look like a stereotypical spy, Blair McDougall, who led the campaign to keep Scotland in the Union, said: “As a former SNP MP says, the SNP is now controlled by sleeper agents of the MI5, it’s a good day.” ask: are Humza Yousaf’s contacts in London behind the failure to prepare a basic economic argument for leaving the UK?
However, former SNP deputy chairman Jim Sillars said he also believes the party has British agents within it.
He told The Times: ‘There were a couple of people in the party who I was absolutely sure were MI5 plants. There is nothing we can do about it. We are a constitutional national organization and therefore we never created a counterintelligence department within the party.’
Broadcaster Andrew Neil was quick to ridicule the claims on social media. He wrote: “Does the former SNP MSP blame this year’s Scot Nat implosion on British spies who have allegedly infiltrated the party down to cabinet level?”
The latest claims come after government documents released by the National Archives last week revealed that the students who stole the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey in 1950 were handed over by moles within the nationalist movement.
Former Scottish Government minister Alex Neil said he agrees with Sillars and Martin. He told The Times: ‘If I were Prime Minister, I would be acting on the assumption that there will be people who will want to “take us down” from within the organisation.
“Who they are, who employs them, what they actually do, what positions they hold and how many there are, we just don’t know.”
He added: “I have no doubt that in the coming decades, when official secrets are revealed, it will be discovered that the people who recovered the Stone of Destiny were not the only ones who were betrayed by people who thought they were loyal to the cause.” . .’
The Stone of Destiny was the seat on which Scottish monarchs were crowned in ancient times and a powerful symbol of the nation’s sovereignty.
Edward I, king of England, seized it in 1296 and took it to London, where it was incorporated into a new royal throne.
There he remained until Christmas Day 1950, when four students from the University of Glasgow broke into the abbey and took him away.
Documents giving details of the hunt for the gang of four were kept secret for more than 70 years, but have now been declassified and made available to the National Archives.
They show that after several weeks without a successful lead, the Metropolitan Police received a tip from people within the nationalist movement.
The Home Office, responsible for managing the UK’s intelligence services, has a long-standing policy of not commenting on operational matters.