Angus Brendan MacNeil ( gd, Aonghas Brianan MacNèill; born 21 July 1970) is the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

(SNP)

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for covering the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

Background

MacNeil was educated at

Castlebay Castlebay ( gd, Bàgh a' Chaisteil) is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The village is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean domi ...

Secondary School on the island of Barra and the

Nicolson Institute The Nicolson Institute ( Gaelic: ''Àrd-sgoil MhicNeacail'') in Stornoway, is the largest school in the Western Isles, Scotland. The Nicolson is the only six-year secondary school in Lewis. With the Sir E. Scott School in Harris, they provide e ...

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well ...

on the Isle of Lewis before attending

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal c ...

where he played

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, and ...

and in 1992 gained a degree in civil engineering. After graduation he worked as a civil engineer for Morrison Construction and as a student reporter for the Gaelic section of

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...

. After qualifying as a teacher at

Jordanhill College Jordanhill Campus is an historic estate within the boundaries of Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, which developed as a country estate. It is best known and most recently used as the home to the Faculty of Education of the University of Strathcl ...

in 1996 , he then taught the first Gaelic Medium Class at Salen and Acharacle Primary Schools in Argyll on the Scottish mainland. Unusually, MacNeil is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

representing a strongly

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

parliamentary constituency.

House of Commons

After being defeated by the Labour Party's David Stewart in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber at the 2001 general election, he was elected in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

for (the Western Isles), gaining the seat from Labour's Calum MacDonald. In March 2006, MacNeil came to attention when he lodged a complaint with the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

regarding the Labour Party Cash for Peerages scandal. In April 2006, he and former "anti-corruption" MP

Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as " ...

wrote to prime minister,

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

calling for all appointments to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

to be suspended in the wake of the scandal. In November 2006 he won the Best Scot at Westminster section of the

Scottish Politician of the Year Scottish Politician of the Year is an annual award established in 1999. It is held by '' The Herald'' newspaper in Prestonfield House, Edinburgh. Although the awards ceremony has been held once at the Royal Museum, Prestonfield House Hotel is co ...

awards for instigating the inquiry into possible abuse of the honours system. On 17 November 2006 MacNeil had the highest bill for travel in 2006–07. This is mainly due to the distance of his constituency from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as well as the dispersed geographical nature of the constituency. He also received awards from ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' magazine and the Political Studies Society for setting the political agenda in Britain during 2006. He is a member of the editorial board for political monthly '' Total Politics''. MacNeil was re-elected to Parliament in 2010. He has served on a number of parliamentary committees. In June 2015 he was appointed chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee; in July 2016, chair of the International Trade Select Committee; and in October 2017, a member of the

Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) is a joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, formed to "monitor the implementation and development" of the United Kingdom Government's National Security Strategy". It ...

. Outside Parliament, he has also served as a member of the Advisory Board at ''Polar Research and Policy Initiative'' since February 2016. In July 2019 MacNeil criticised the then Conservative leadership candidate,

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

for stating that learning English is essential for immigrants. MacNeil called English a "Germanic import" in contrast to indigenous Celtic languages.

Personal life

In 1998 MacNeil married Jane Douglas who worked as his parliamentary secretary. In 2007, the '' Sunday Mail'' reported MacNeil had "kissed and fondled" two girls aged 17 and 18 in an Orkney hotel room while his wife in hospital pregnant with their third child. MacNeil said he bitterly regretted the incident and said he was angry it had diverted attention from the "substantial political issues" he had been pursuing. In a statement, MacNeil, then 36, apologised for the "embarrassment and hurt" caused to his family by his actions. In May 2016, MacNeil and his wife announced that they had separated; this followed reports that MacNeil and his colleague Stewart Hosie had both had affairs with Westminster-based journalist Serena Cowdy. In October 2020, he was involved in a collision with a 17 year old local motorcyclist and charged with causing serious injury. He pleaded not guilty at a hearing on 13 July 2021. Another hearing is due to take place in September and a trial scheduled for October. His trial was delayed until March 2022 because the defence decided to employ an accident investigator and needed more time to prepare. In May 2022, he was found guilty of dangerous driving and fined £1,500. Angus MacNeil is a dual British and Irish citizen.

References

External links

Personal website

SNP profile

''Guardian'' articles by Angus MacNeil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macneil, Angus Scottish National Party MPs 1970 births Scottish people of Irish descent Living people Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People from Barra UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Shinty players People educated at the Nicolson Institute