Last chance for Russell to come clean or consider his position

The Mike Russell schools row has taken a fresh twist after reports state that, in his ministerial capacity, he met and advised parents campaigning against school closures in Argyll & Bute - the seat he hopes to win in this year's elections, but which is not in his current region of representation as an MSP.

Liz Smith MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning, said:

"This is now a serious issue for the SNP Government. When the story first broke, I advised Mike Russell to publish all correspondence, advice and details of meetings he has had on this issue so that he could prove he had done nothing wrong. He did not do so and now the 'drip drip drip' of continual revelations is proving to be hugely damaging, both for him and the SNP Government.

"It is now seems clear that Mike Russell has misused his position and parliamentary resources for his personal political ends. He is not an MSP for Argyll, either as a constituency or regional member, and as a Minister he must avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interests.

"The SNP continues to try to play this down, but that is insulting to voters. Mike Russell needs to come clean and prove he has acted within the code of conduct or he will have to consider his position as a Minister."

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