SNP accepts £1m donation from Section 28 backer Brian Souter
The Scottish Nationalist Party has accepted a £1 million donation from Stagecoach boss Sir Brian Souter – who funded a campaign to keep Section 28.
The transport magnate funded an unsuccessful Keep the Clause campaign in 2000 to maintain the anti-gay law, which banned the “promotion of homosexuality” and the teaching of the “acceptability of homosexuality” in schools.
He was controversially awarded a knighthood in 2011, and later warned that a decline in “traditional marriage” would “implode” society.
An SNP spokesperson said: “The referendum is Scotland’s one opportunity, and it’s a fantastic sign of confidence that Brian and others the length and breadth of Scotland are stepping up to the plate to do what they can – so that we have the resources to take on the Westminster establishment and win that vital Yes vote.”
Speaking in 2011, the Stagecoach boss had said: “We are arguing here about what kind of society we want to live in. Are we going to be in a Babylonian-Greek-type of society, where sex is primarily a recreational activity, or are we going to stick with the Judeo-Christian tradition, where procreation is something that we want to put within a marriage context?
“Quite honestly the issue about gay relationships is a small side-product from that discussion.”
He previously accused Google of censoring his personal website because of his views, claiming it had “mysteriously disappeared” from search results.
