Alex Salmond’s Alba Party says it will take no action over the pro-Kremlin views of a Polish politician who was touted to stand for them in May’s council elections after his previous organisation was accused of spying for Vladimir Putin.
The former first minister suspended his show on the Russian state-backed RT station last month following the invasion of Ukraine but faces fresh questions after we uncovered a trail of articles by a prominent party member backing military action.
Konrad Rekas was being touted as a prospective candidate for the Kincorth, Nigg and Cove ward in May’s local council elections as recently as February 27 on the Aberdeen Alba twitter account.
But our investigation reveals Mr Rekas has been using websites to justify the invasion of Ukraine as self-defence.
He has also called for the Polish government to work with the Russian state to move its own border east into Ukrainian territory.
Previous party raided on spying charges
Mr Rekas was previously vice-president of the Zmiana (Change) Party in Poland, a pro-Kremlin outfit that sought a friendly partnership with Putin and condemned western sanctions on Moscow during the 2014 invasion of Crimea.
He became acting leader in 2016 after Mateusz Piskorski was detained on charges of “cooperation with Russian intelligence services, meeting intelligence officers and undertaking operational tasks from them as well as accepting payments”.
It came after interior ministry special agents raided the Zmania headquarters in Warsaw and the homes of several members.
At the time, Mr Rekas blasted the action as “an attempt to intimidate those whose views on foreign, domestic and socio-economic policy differ from those of the government”.
Alba said there is “no appropriate action for the party to take” over the views expressed by Mr Rekas because he is not currently a candidate.
It refused to say why apparent plans for him to stand in Aberdeen had been dropped.
However, we have learned party bosses were tipped off about material being shared online across a number of sites.
Mr Rekas, who was photographed on his own social media holding a Polish flag next to Mr Salmond, has been able to establish close links with a number of key independence figures since moving to Scotland.
His Facebook friends list has previously included former SNP MSP Christian Allard and current government minister Kevin Stewart.
He was also previously treasurer of Action for Independence, the political party founded by former SNP MSP Dave Thompson in 2020 before it stood down to make way for the Alba Party.
What did Rekas claim in his articles?
In an article on January 25 titled Ukraine Will Never Be The Same Again, Mr Rekas attempts to justify the Russian invasion of a “collapsing Nazi-oligarchic Ukrainian state” by arguing it is in the “common interest” of all Europeans.
He claims Vladimir Putin “would never take such a determined action – if he had not been forced to do so”.
“The order could only be issued when the Russian side had reliable information about the expected enemy attack,” Mr Rekas writes.
“And not only against Donbas, but probably the Russian Federation itself. Vladimir Putin attacks only when this is the absolutely only form of defence.”
He says it has been “hard to resist the impression” that the United States and the UK in particular were “outright encouraging and almost forcing” Russia to invade.
Mr Rekas claims the Ukrainian government – which is led by a Jewish president and prime minister – is “mainly oligarchs and thieves or mainly Nazis and murderers”.
He says that if the Russians do not operate beyond the pre-World War Two border of Poland, Europe will become a forced neighbour of a “Ukrainian Nazi Reich”.
Purged article goes even further
In a more extreme version of the same article published in Polish on January 24 – which has since been deleted, Mr Rekas goes further.
He writes that Polish soldiers should enter Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, and work with the Russians to move the borders of Poland beyond the Ukrainian cities of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Zhytomyr, and Vinnytsia.
In another article, explaining his support for independence, Mr Rekas writes that an independent Scotland “would also be a blow to the most loyal European ally of the United States, a kind of detachment from the stern of land the aircraft carrier USS ‘United Kingdom’.”
He adds: “Free Alba [Scotland] [would] remove from its territory submarines with nuclear weapons.”
After being contacted for comment, Mr Rekas said he has always supported democracy and the building of a civil society in Ukraine, adding: “I haven’t changed my mind on it”.
“I’ve got friends on both sides this terrible and unnecessary war. So, my only hope is to see this conflict over as soon as possible,” he said.
“The same as my support for independence of Scotland, Ukraine, Poland or Donbas. I’d like to see all these countries free from war, violence, aggression, intolerance, hate, Nazism and exploitation.”
Mr Rekas said he would “strongly decline” any suggestions of anti-Semitism or far right beliefs, and said he would consider himself a “leftist supporter of freedom, tolerance and social justice – a staunch opponent of any form of racism”.
Leigh Wilson, Alba’s local government convener, said there is “no appropriate action for the party to take” because Mr Rekas is not and never has been an Alba candidate.
“He has, I understand, been an activist in the SNP/Yes/Alba campaigns in Aberdeen in recent years,” Mr Wilson said.
“Alba have more than 6,000 individual members and don’t attempt to police their diverse views unless they run for office and are accountable as such to the party.
“Any complaint forthcoming about any individual member would be dealt with by the party’s conduct committee, which would examine all the facts in the proper manner.”
Mr Wilson added that Alba “completely condemn this illegal invasion by Russia and stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”
Holyrood parties react
Following our investigation, North East Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said the views attributed to Mr Rekas “have absolutely no place in Scottish political discourse”.
“It is shocking that the nationalists have clearly turned a blind eye to these pro-Kremlin posts,” he said.
“That is a total insult to all those suffering devastation and horror in Ukraine right now. Alex Salmond should end his silence and condemn these views as strongly as possible.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, who previously urged Alex Salmond not to be Vladimir Putin’s “useful idiot”, said: “In May people can vote to make sure that Alex Salmond, his nationalists and their pro-Kremlin comrades aren’t anywhere near our council chambers.”
Meanwhile, Labour MSP Neil Bibby described the material uncovered by our investigation as a “deeply worrying development which shows that apologists for Vladimir Putin’s regime are active in trying to disrupt Scottish politics”.
Alba’s Mr Wilson said Labour, the Lib Dems and the Tories were “attempting to score petty political points”.
Alex Salmond suspends show on Russian state TV after call to ‘repent’