Hirst Blames Tories For His Downfall
The former Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, Sir Michael Hirst, who quit his post at the beginning of the election campaign due to allegations about his private life has blamed a "tiny group" of fellow Conservatives for his downfall.
Sir Michael has decided to tell his side of the story after The Scotsman newspaper revealed that Tory left-wingers were apparently behind the damaging allegations that led to Sir Michael's resignation.
"Sadly, it was by Tories - a very tiny number", he told BBC Radio Scotland. "The poison had been spread far, deep and wide," he added.
The Scotsman suggested that key figures on the left of the party - and not the right, as had previously been rumoured - had "stitched him up".
However Sir Michael's interpretation of events has been challenged by Anna McCurley, a former Tory MP, who declared: "As far as I know, there was no conspiracy to do Michael down."
Ms McCurley is no friend of Sir Michael's. She once commented that "Donald Duck" would make a better parliamentary candidate than he would.
When asked why he resigned, she said "I frankly don't know the answer to that.
The answer is a mystery, in the sense that I just wonder why he resigned at
all."
Chain Of Events
Sir Michael's resignation was part of a chain of events which began with the
abrupt departure of Allan Stewart, then the Conservative MP for Eastwood, who stepped down after allegations of a friendship with a woman he allegedly met at a clinic specialising in alcohol problems.
The Scotsman article suggests that some of Sir Michael's critics were concerned that if Sir Micheal took Mr Stewart's safe seat he could then become the Shadow Scottish Secreatry if the Conservatives lost the election.
Sir Michael looked likely to inherit the position of Shadow Scottish Secreatary, as Michael Forsyth was expected to lose his seat when the government went to the country.
Sir Michael's opponents feared that if he was installed as Shadow Scottish Secretary after a Conservative defeat he would then be in an crucial positon to influence the debate on devolution.
He said today that one of the reasons for breaking his silence was to
exonerate Michael Forsyth, current chairman Annabel Goldie, deputy chairman
Jackson Carlaw, and Sir Adrian Shinwell, of any involvement in his downfall.
He said some people had been "quite determined" to stop him getting the
Eastwood candidacy - for whom it would also have been "quite convenient" if he
was no longer to be chairman.
"I know there were people briefing the press and briefing others at a high
level with one clear purpose in mind", he said.
"Yes, they brought me down on a personal basis. But they wrought terrible
damage on the party of which they are members. "I think many party members will find it very hard indeed to forgive those prepared to put their own narrow agenda ahead of that of the party at a critical time."
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