SNP member crosses fingers as he swears oath to Queen
A NEW SNP MP crossed his fingers during his swearing-in ceremony in the House of Commons, in an apparent republican protest.
Steven Bonnar, the representative for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, crossed his fore and middle fingers as he held up his right hand and swore an allegiance to the Crown.
Mr Bonnar later tweeted a screengrab of video feed from the Commons chamber, in which his hand was cropped out of the image. “That’s us all official now,” Mr Bonnar tweeted. “I have been sworn in as the MP for Coatbridge Chryston and Bellshill. I look forward to serving all constituents to the best of my ability for the time Scotland remains within the UK.”
In the oath, which is required by all MPS, they swear allegiance to “Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors”.
Tony Banks, a former Labour MP and lord, famously crossed his fingers at the start of the 1997 Parliament.
Under convention, Mr Bonnar will not have to retake his oath.
A Commons spokesman said: “Whether members’ fingers are crossed or not when saying the words is irrelevant. It is the taking of the oath and the words said which is set out in the Act – crossing the fingers has no statutory impact.”
Meanwhile, the SDLP’S Claire Hanna wrote to Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to register her opposition to making the oath. “I submit this letter to you to register a respectful protest against the requirement that I make a statement of allegiance to the Crown as a precondition for taking my seat,” she wrote.