A TERMINALLY ill mother of five has criticised the “despicable bullies” who ostracised her after she quit as a candidate for Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity Party.
Lindsay Jarrett resigned over concerns about the finances of Hope Over Fear (HOF), a pro-independence group widely believed to be a front for Sheridan.
The charity campaigner, who Sheridan said had “inspired” him, was then unfriended by the ex-MSP’s allies on social media.
Jarrett, who has won plaudits for her charity work, suffers from Alpha-1, a rare condition which means she can only use 20 per cent of her lungs.
The former police officer explained last year: “Without a double lung and liver transplant I will die.”
She was unveiled as a Solidarity list candidate for the 2016 Holyrood poll and has been a star turn at Hope Over Fear rallies.
Sheridan, an ex-Glasgow MSP who is the joint leader of Solidarity, once introduced Jarrett by saying: “Here is someone struggling with a terminal illness but has refused to succumb, has refused to bend her knee, has refused to allow her spirits to be dampened and continues to fight for the freedom of our country.”
Solidarity is supposed to be separate from HOF, with the latter describing itself as “apolitical”.
However, Solidarity recently registered variants of HOF with the Electoral Commission, which would allow the party to use the name on a Holyrood ballot paper.
Jarrett publicly cited ill health for her decision to quit as a Solidarity candidate, but the real reason was that she had doubts about HOF and its promotion of Sheridan, who was jailed in 2011 for perjury.
A source close to Jarrett said: “Lindsay enjoyed speaking at HOF rallies, but she drew a blank when she started to ask about finances.
“She wanted to know how much had been raised in the buckets at rallies to fundraise for Hope Over Fear, what the money was used for and the status of the bank account.
“Lindsay was not making any allegations, but asked for transparency. She didn’t get the answers, which is why she quit as a candidate.”
It is understood she contacted Sheridan and quit afterwards.
The source said: “She doesn’t believe anyone should give more money until audited accounts are made public. She also did not appreciate it when Hope Over Fear fundraised at a Lindsay Jarrett Foundation event.”
The source concluded: “Hope Over Fear is the ‘Tommy Sheridan Show’. It’s that simple.”
Weeks after she quit, the source close to Jarrett said she was deserted on social media by individuals linked to Solidarity.
Jarrett responded on Facebook: “Thank you to those who have called and messaged in tears as they’ve been forced or made to delete me by despicable bullies.”
HOF, which is not a charity or a company, eventually published a “financial report” on Facebook this month – after Jarrett had resigned.
The document, in the name of HOF treasurer John Park, lists income of £14,993.31, which includes £4,750 from merchandise, £3,374 from donations, £3,500 from a loan and £1,000 from a PayPal transfer. Expenditure of £13,032 was noted.
The biggest spending item was £3,738 for “repay loan + barrier hire”. A balance of £1,960 was listed on the statement.
HOF added: “In the interest of transparency we decided to publish this latest financial report which was submitted at our last meeting and would like to emphasise that everyone involved with HOF do so on a voluntary basis and do not gain financially in any way.”
A spokesman for Hope Over Fear told the Sunday Herald: “Hope Over Fear and Solidarity are two different entities. I have never been asked about the finances of Hope Over Fear by Lindsay Jarrett.”
On the bullying claims, the spokesman said: “If she is calling people bullies because they have unfriended her on social media, I think that’s a bit much.”
Jarrett declined to comment.
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