A FORMER ambassador and blogger who is currently serving an eight-month prison sentence is no longer a member of the SNP, the party has confirmed.
Craig Murray, 62, was found to have been in contempt of court over blogs he wrote about the trial of former first minister Alex Salmond.
He was judged to have breached a strict court order protecting the identities of the women who accused the ex-SNP leader of sexual assault.
Mr Salmond was acquitted of all charges following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Judge Lady Dorrian found Murray published information which, if pieced together, could lead to women being identified.
At a virtual sentencing in May, she said: “It appears from the posts and articles that he was in fact relishing the task he set himself, which was essentially to allow the identities of complainers to be discerned – which he thought was in the public interest – in a way which did not attract sanction.”
Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, handed himself in to a police station in Edinburgh earlier this month.
On July 26, he wrote on social media that he remained a member of the SNP.
He tweeted: “I haven't actually left the SNP on joining Alba [Alex Salmond's political party], I am waiting for the SNP to kick me out. I don't see the two as incompatible at this stage, personally.
“The SNP still take my membership fee every month, so as far as I am concerned I remain a member until they stop taking it.”
The SNP said: “Craig Murray is not a party member.”
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