SNP secretly supported Leave to force Indyref2, claims data firm worker

A FORMER member of staff at data-harvesting firm Cambridge Analytica has claimed that representatives of the SNP met them to discuss Brexit.

The row over the Nationalists’ dealings with the company – which was working with the Leave campaign – deepened as fresh claims about their February 2016 talks were made.

A former senior employee of Cambridge Analytica’s parent company, SCL Group, claimed in a Sunday newspaper that the meeting with the firm’s chairman, Julian Wheatland, took place in London to discuss the forthcoming EU referendum.

The source said Mr Wheatland had insisted that while the SNP publicly backed Remain, the party secretly wanted Britain to vote Leave to boost the case for independence.

The claims have been flatly denied by the SNP, who called them ‘utter concoction’.

New details also emerged yesterday about Yes Scotland’s use of ‘sentiment analysis’ on Facebook, to target people deemed likely to change their minds and back separation.

Scottish Labour campaigns spokesman Neil Findlay said: ‘The SNP must answer basic questions over its dealings with Cambridge Analytica (CA).

‘Claims the SNP secretly wanted a Leave vote are astonishing. Many people in Scotland already believe the SNP is desperate to use Brexit as a platform to kick-start another independence referendum.

‘The SNP could clear up this mess by disclosing who attended this meeting and any documentation associated with it.

‘More and more we are finding out about the activities of IT companies and their harvesting of data – we need some form of inquiry into the extent of this in Scotland.’

Ex-CA director Brittany Kaiser told a Commons committee last week the firm took part in ‘pitches and negotiations’ with the SNP in London and Edinburgh.

Miss Sturgeon said there was one meeting between a consultant acting for the party and CA representatives, in February 2016.

According to the former SCL employee spoken to by the Sunday Times, Mr Wheatland told staff on the day of the meeting with the SNP: ‘It’s about Brexit’. When it was pointed out to Mr Wheatland that the SNP favoured remaining in the EU, the source told the newspaper that he responded: ‘No they don’t... if we get out they get a chance at another referendum.

‘They won’t say that publicly but they want us to leave so they can get another independence vote.’

It was also reported that CA boss Alexander Nix and chief data officer Alexander Tyler visited Edinburgh around the same time as the London talks, but it is not known if a meeting went ahead.

The SNP insisted the London meeting was the only contact with the firm.

Questions were also raised yesterday about the use of two Canadian firms hired by Yes Scotland to micro-target Facebook users.

First Contact and Zero Pi were hired weeks before the 2014 independence vote. It is thought ‘sentiment analysis’ of social media discussions was used to analyse whether ‘in your heart you are on the Yes side but have some fears or obstacles’.

There is no suggestion the firms acted illegally – although the SNP was unable to say yesterday whether it received any of the data during or after the referendum.

A Scottish Tory spokesman said: ‘While the SNP has pointed the finger at other parties in recent weeks, it’s failed to provide transparency about its own behaviour.’

Referring to the Zero Pi remarks, an SNP spokesman said: ‘These comments highlight the importance the Yes campaign placed on ensuring the campaign had no access to personal data and followed data privacy laws at all times – unlike CA.’

Regarding the ex-SCL worker’s comments, the SNP said: ‘This is utter concoction and fantasy.’

‘Utter concoction and fantasy’