Alex Salmond’s former employee and SNP ‘rising star’ Alex MacLeod sentenced for election expenses fraud, Salmond’s aide gets a ridiculously light sentence of a community payback order, will MacLeod join Salmond on the campaign trail for Scottish independence now?

Dear All

Alex Salmond’s former employee and SNP rising star Alex MacLeod has now been sentenced for his part in an election expenses fraud.

A former SNP councillor has gotten off with a ridiculously light sentence of a community payback order of wait for it, 160 hours of unpaid community work.

4 weeks work as a punishment for his attempts to rig an election in his favour.

Presumably with such a light sentence he will be available to campaign for Scottish independence citing how fairness, equality and social justice are important to him personally.

Alex MacLeod was Highland Council's youngest member when he was elected in May 2012 at the age of 19, if he hadn’t committed fraud he would still be in public office.

In a statement, MacLeod said:

"These past two years have been the most turbulent and horrible that I have known”.

Obviously MacLeod is keen to rewrite history as quickly as possible to portray himself as the ‘victim’ here.

He added:

"I am eager to have the opportunity to repay my debt to them."

Last month, MacLeod’s take on the fraud was that it had been "an act of foolishness in the heat of a campaign".

During the run to the guilty plea, you could have been under the impression that Salmond’s former employee was innocent by his statements of his team working closely with the Crown Office, as if it had all been a big mistake like a paper work error.

He then pleaded guilty to knowingly incurring more election expenses than he was allowed, and declaring false expenses to council officials.

Alex MacLeod also admitted to altering invoices for print work and submitting these to local authority officials.

MacLeod knew exactly what he was doing, at some stage, I would expect him to return to the SNP as he was one of the ‘clique’ and with them citing he has paid his debt to society.

Bill Walker, Nicola’s pal on the other hand doesn’t tick the same boxes as MacLeod so he won’t be allowed back.

Alex MacLeod is a rat, but as a rat he has been exposed.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University