SNP under fire after refusing to dump conference host who spread Covid conspiracies

The SNP has been accused of undermining public health messages after refusing to drop a TV presenter as host of its online conference after it emerged she had promoted coronavirus conspiracy theories.

Hayley Matthews, the face of the nationalists’ three-day virtual gathering, backed bizarre claims that governments were seeking to impose a “new world order” through the pandemic.

She also said that she would not allow her child to have a flu jab or “any covid s***e”, claimed “nature’s the best medicine” when discussing vaccines in a newspaper column, and shared content on her Twitter account which raised doubts over the safety of new coronavirus inoculations.

Nicola Sturgeon distanced herself from Ms Matthews’ views and said her role as a contributor to the Parent Club website, a Scottish Government initiative offering advice and information to parents, would be “looked into”.

She said: “Hayley Matthews is a professional presenter hired as part of the technical team to stitch together the online conference we are having.

“The views I have seen attributed to her in the media are absolutely, emphatically not the views of the SNP or the Scottish Government.”

However, despite Ms Matthews' comments being reported in the media on Monday morning and causing an outcry, she still appeared as the host of the SNP’s online conference. At the event, she offered no apology for her comments and was thanked by SNP politicians and officials for performing the role.

Donald Cameron, health spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: “The SNP must explain why they are continuing to associate themselves with someone who holds these deeply suspect views.

“People are understandably excited about the prospect of an imminent vaccine and everyone should be encouraging uptake among the public.

“Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP must condemn these views urgently and not allow vital health messaging to be undermined.”

Monica Lennon, the Scottish Labour MSP, said ministers could not "switch off their responsibilities" at a party conference.

She added: "Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP should distance themselves from people who peddle dangerous nonsense about vaccines, not give them a platform."

On her Twitter account, which she has since deleted, Ms Matthews replied to a discussion about masks in which a man said people could get trusted advice from sources such as the World Health Organisation by saying: “You can’t be serious… are you?”

She also tweeted “glad someone knows WTF is going on” in response to a Twitter poll that found support for the view that an unnamed government had “destroyed our liberty, livelihoods and lives” in an effort to “impose a new world order”.

She also liked a series of posts from Ian Brown, the Stone Roses frontman, who has been accused of spreading anti-vaccination conspiracy theories.

In one, the singer tweeted “Your compliance ensures our enslavement, WAKE UP.” Matthews relied: “Thank you for speaking the truth x”.

In a response issued to The Daily Record newspaper, Matthews denied that she was an “anti-vaxxer”.

She added: “The pandemic has been tough for all of us and I’m sure I’m not alone in learning how to keep safe. I’ll be getting vaccinated as soon as it is offered to me.”