Scottish minister condemns ‘offensive’ Swastika post made by father

A Scottish minister has condemned social media posts made by his father which depicted the Star of David linked with a Swastika.

Public finance minister Tom Arthur said the post fell “far short” of his stance against discrimination.

Police Scotland has said it is investigating the reported online “offensive content”.

The post was shared by the minister’s father – also known as Tom Arthur – on April 1, the same day the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into effect.

As an SNP MSP, I stand against discrimination of any kind. The online post shared by a family member falls far short of that position and I condemn the views expressed.
— Tom Arthur (@ThomasCArthur) April 8, 2024

Alongside the intertwined symbols, it included the words “Nazism = Zionism”.

The SNP said disciplinary action would have been taken had Mr Arthur Snr not resigned his party membership.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the Scottish Government minister said: “As an SNP MSP, I stand against discrimination of any kind. The online post shared by a family member falls far short of that position and I condemn the views expressed.

“Six months on from Hamas’s barbaric terrorist attack which claimed the lives of more than 1,000 innocent civilians, I will continue to call for the immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for a permanent two state solution to pave the way towards peace.”

An SNP spokeswoman said: “The SNP stands firmly against antisemitism. The social media post is unacceptable and would have been subject to disciplinary investigation had the individual concerned not resigned their party membership with immediate effect.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received a complaint which is being investigated as a communications offence.”