Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed played a critical role from the tropical Cayman Islands to halt a bid to remove Green politician Maggie Chapman from Holyrood’s equalities committee.
The vote was being held on Tuesday in response to Ms Chapman’s comments accusing the Supreme Court of “bigotry” in its judgment on the definition of a “biological woman” for the purposes of equality law.
SNP members of the committee voted with Ms Chapman to defeat the Conservative attempt to remove her by a single vote.
Stirling MSPs Cayman Islands intervention
The Courier has learned Ms Tweed, an SNP member of committee, played a crucial role from the Cayman Islands.
She was in the British Overseas Territory acting as an international observer monitoring the island’s elections as part of a delegation of the UK’s Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The western Caribbean island is six hours behind the UK. It meant Ms Tweed would have been voting at around 4am local time.
Appearing remotely, Ms Tweed had to be reminded by committee convener Karen Adam to turn her camera on so her vote could be registered.
Without her “no” vote the committee would have been split, leaving the incoming Dundee University rector’s future position on the committee unclear.
‘Astonishing’
North East Tory MSP Tess White, who sits on the committee, said: “This astonishing revelation sums up how disconnected SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament are from the real world.
“Maggie Chapman’s skin was saved by a nationalist MSP getting up in the middle of the night while enjoying herself in the Caribbean.
“Disillusioned voters will find it appalling that a vote cast thousands of miles away is the reason this extremist Green MSP retains her privileges as deputy convener, despite her outrageous outburst against the Supreme Court.
“SNP bosses must also now clarify whether this vote was whipped after all, given Evelyn Tweed was closer to Havana than Holyrood at the time.”
Asked about Ms Tweed’s trip, a spokesperson for the MSP said she attend the committee remotely from a visit with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
First Minister John Swinney previously insisted his party would not tell its MSPs on the committee how to vote.
The vote in the parliament on Tuesday was the latest twist in the divisive row over the balance between the rights of transgender people and women.
The Green MSP spoke in her defence at the hearing, insisting she had a right to challenge the ruling.
“I have never questioned the court’s right to make the ruling that it did.
“That does not mean I must agree with it. I don’t,” Ms Chapman said.
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