FM pulls out of conference after Trump aide is invited
Nicola Sturgeon pulled out of a conference after organisers booked a controversial former adviser to Donald Trump as a fellow speaker.
The First Minister has cancelled her scheduled appearance at the News Xchange 2018 conference in Edinburgh next month.
It comes after the event announced Steve Bannon, a right-wing political activist and former White House aide, was also lined up to speak.
Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon said many people would describe Bannon’s views as fascist and added inviting him to the event gave those views legitimacy.
She was due to open the event at the National Museum of Scotland on November 13, the day before Bannon was to be interviewed by the BBC at the conference.
On Twitter Ms Sturgeon wrote: “The email the BBC sent to my office justifying Bannon’s inclusion described him as a ‘powerful and influential figure... promoting an antielite movement’.
“This kind of language to describe views that many would describe as fascist does seem to me to run the risk of normalisation.”
Organisers of the event said: “Steve Bannon is a key influencer in the rise of populism – one of the dominant political trends of our times. He has been invited to speak at News Xchange this year because his views are relevant to today’s society at large and therefore to the media industry.”