MP Lisa Cameron forced into hiding after defecting from the SNP to the Conservative Party

Published

2 years ago

October 14, 2023

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An MP who defected from the Scottish National Party to join the Conservatives this week has said she and her family have been forced into hiding after receiving a barrage of threatening messages.

Dr Lisa Cameron said she was told “I hope you burn” and “I hope someone throws a brick at you in the street” among a series of threats received over email.

“Think your mental health is bad now — wait til you see what abuse and nastiness yer (sic) going to have to put up with,” another message said.

Dr Cameron, her husband and two daughters have moved out of their home and are now living at an undisclosed location in the Scottish countryside.

Speaking to The Times newspaper, Dr Cameron said she took the decision to leave her home to protect her two children.

“The kids were getting upset and I didn’t want them to be impacted any more. I thought it was best to get away and try and protect them,” she told the newspaper.

“I am a mum before anything else and that was foremost in my thoughts.”

The move comes after she resigned on Thursday citing what she called the “toxic and bullying SNP Westminster group”, saying she did not feel able to continue.

But the decision of the MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow to quit the SNP but not her seat sparked some criticism.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has called for her to resign her seat and call a by-election.

“She should do the honourable thing by her constituents, who voted for an SNP MP [but] did not vote for a Conservative MP,” Mr Yousaf said.

In a statement, Dr Cameron criticised her treatment by the SNP and its leadership after she spoke out about her colleague, Patrick Grady.

Mr Grady was suspended from the House of Commons for two days last year after he was found to have made an “unwanted sexual advance” to a member of party staff in 2016.

The former NHS psychologist said she was mistreated by her party after speaking in support of the complainant.

In a statement she said: “I do not feel able to continue in what I have experienced as a toxic and bullying SNP Westminster group, which resulted in my requiring counselling for a period of 12 months in parliament and caused significant deterioration in my health and wellbeing as assessed by my GP including the need for antidepressants.

“I will never regret my actions in standing up for a victim of abuse at the hands of an SNP MP last year, but I have no faith remaining in a party whose leadership supported the perpetrator’s interests over that of the victim’s and who have shown little to no interest in acknowledging or addressing the impact,” she added.

In a separate interview with the Scottish Daily Mail she said her only regret was not leaving the SNP sooner, describing aspects of the party as “cult-like”.

“It does feel quite cult-like in the sense that, in order to have continued approval, you have to think and act and speak and behave in a way that is expected constantly, and never to criticise,” she told the newspaper.

She also claimed there was a “cult of personality” within the SNP that has left people feeling “unable to question” the leadership and being forced to leave.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he was “delighted” Dr Cameron had decided to join the Conservatives, describing her as a “brave and committed constituency MP”.

But, SNP president Mike Russell said on Friday the defection was an “odd tantrum”, from someone who was “going to lose their nomination”.

The SNP is due to meet on Sunday for Humza Yousaf’s first conference as leader.

Politics

A peace deal isn’t a sure thing, Zelenskyy’s UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Published

3 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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A peace deal isn't a sure thing, Zelenskyy's UK visit needs more than a warm welcome

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Downing Street once again, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be keen to make this meeting more than just a photo op.

On Monday the prime minister will welcome not only the Ukrainian president, but also E3 allies France and Germany to discuss the state of the war in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will join Sir Keir in showing solidarity and support for Ukraine and its leader, but it’s the update on the peace negotiations that will be the main focus of the meet up.

The four leaders are said to be set to not only discuss those talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also to talk about next steps if a deal were to be reached and what that might look like.

Ahead of the discussions, Sir Keir spoke with the Dutch leader Dick Schoof where both leaders agreed Ukraine’s defence still needs international support, and that Ukraine’s security is vital to European security.

But while Russia’s war machine shows no signs of abating, a warm welcome and kind words won’t be enough to satisfy the embattled Ukrainian president at a time when Russian drone and missile attacks continue to bombard Kyiv.

What is the latest in negotiations?

Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed “next steps” with US President Donald Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.

“The American representatives know the basic Ukrainian positions,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “The conversation was constructive, although not easy.”

But on Sunday evening, ahead of an event at the Kennedy Center, President Trump said he was “disappointed” with Mr Zelenskyy, as was asked about the next steps in Russia-Ukraine talks following negotiations.

He said: “We’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders, including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy.

“And I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal. That was as of a few hours ago.

“His people love it. But he hasn’t – Russia’s fine with it. Russia’s you know, Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it. But Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it. His people love it but he hasn’t read it.”

On Saturday, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s outgoing Ukraine envoy, had told the Reagan National Defence Forum that efforts to resolve the conflict were in “the last 10 metres”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised new US security strategy over the weekend, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to “further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement”.

Politics

Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Published

4 hours ago

December 8, 2025

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Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit

Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is returning to India after a two-year absence from the market.

Coinbase has resumed app registrations in India as it prepares to roll out local fiat on-ramps in 2026, Coinbase APAC director John O’Loghlen announced at India Blockchain Week (IBW), according to a Sunday report by TechCrunch.

Coinbase’s return to India comes more than two years after it ceased local services in September 2023, following a troubled debut of its local exchange launched in 2022.

“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats, have a clean slate here,” O’Loghlen said.

Crypto-to-crypto trades available immediately

As Coinbase resumes customer onboarding in India, users can immediately execute crypto-to-crypto trades, according to the report by TechCrunch.

The exchange initially began onboarding users through an early-access program in October, around the time it hired Karan Malik as its India marketing lead.

Coinbase, India, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Policy — *Source: Coinbase India marketing lead Karan Malik*

Malik had previously overseen marketing for last year’s IBW event, where Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this year.

“Last year, I was leading the charge and building the marketing and brand playbook for IBW. This year, I’m bringing Coinbase to the party,” the exec said.

Coinbase ramps up push in India

Coinbase has been actively working to rebuild its relationship with the Indian government. In early December, Coinbase’s international policy adviser Katie Mitch represented the exchange before India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

“We are optimistic on the potential for forward-looking VDA regulation in India,” she said in an X post last Thursday.

In another development last week, Priyank Kharge, IT minister for Karnataka, signed a memorandum of understanding with Coinbase India to deepen the state’s leadership in blockchain innovation and cybersecurity.

*Source: Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge*

Through the collaboration, the Karnataka government will collaborate with the exchange on startup incubation on Coinbase-backed Base protocol and speed up real-world applications of blockchain technology, the minister said.

As previously mentioned, Coinbase secured a license with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit in March 2025, positioning the exchange for a potential launch in the country. In August, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal also met with Karnataka’s IT minister Kharge to explore collaboration on developer tools, cybersecurity and blockchain in governance.

Cointelegraph approached Coinbase for comment regarding its relaunch in India, but had not received a response by the time of publication.