Former SNP councillor and close ally of the late Alex Salmond has been named as a lobbyist for an anti-abortion group. Chris McEleny has started as the first Scottish Parliamentary Officer for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).
SPUC's role and recent campaign
According to the SPUC website, the organisation is “leading the fight” in the “courts, classroom and culture” against abortion and euthanasia. The charity played a high-profile role earlier this year in the defeat of an assisted dying Bill at Holyrood.
McEleny's political background
McEleny was an SNP councillor in Inverclyde before joining Salmond’s Alba party. He was the party’s general secretary before getting expelled.
New role and public statements
An email from the group this week stated: “Chris McEleny starts as SPUC's first ever Scottish Parliamentary Officer at a pivotal time for the pro-life cause in Scotland. With your help, we saw off the threat of assisted suicide back in March of this year, but we now have powerful people calling for the decriminalisation of abortion. There is perhaps no better time for Chris to join us, therefore!”
In an interview for a pro-life broadcasting channel, McEleny said he would look to form a “consensus” against “coercion” in abortion.
