Labour MSP forced to apologise to Janey Godley over drug deaths jibe

A Labour MSP has been forced to apologise to Janey Godley for a social media jibe over Scotland's drug deaths - after the comic told him that she had lost her own brother Jim to drug-related illness.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay has apologised to comic Janey Godley.

Neil Findlay had posted a message on Twitter suggesting that the stand-up and actress, whose spoof voiceovers of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at her daily pandemic briefing have regularly gone viral, had deliberately avoided tackling the resignation of public health minister Joe Fitzpatrick after Scotland’s record number of drug deaths were recorded.

The Glasgow comic, whose TV appearances include Have I Got News For You, responded by posting a picture of her dead brother Jim on the Lothian MSP’s timeline, along with a message stating that he died 10 years ago this month and wishing the MSP a “peaceful safe Christmas.”Mr Findlay later apologised to Ms Godley, insisting he was “completely unaware” of her family history and would not have posted the message if he had done.

However Mr Findlay, a previous contender for the leadership of Scottish Labour, further upset the comic by suggesting that her “selective political satire fails to recognise the abject failure of our own government.”

Ms Godley, who was honoured at the Scottish Comedy Awards and the Scots Language Awards this year, recent published a compilation of her favourites.

Mr Findlay’s original tweet about the comic stated: “I'm sure we are waiting on one of those ever so hilarious videos of Janey Godley voicing over Nicola Sturgeon and Joe Fitzpatrick's week - well maybe not since 1264 of our citizens are dead."

Ms Godley has previously written about her difficult relationship with her brother, how he became “a rather sad creature” due to addiction and illness.She told Mr Findlay: “I have had to block so many accounts Neil after you dragged me into this. It’s public knowledge what heroin addiction did to my family, please acknowledge I don’t make policies, I am a stupid clown with a camera phone- you’re a paid politician - let’s do our jobs.”

However Mr Findlay said: “If you attack and satirise anyone who take an alternative political or different political view to yours then you cannot expect people not to satirise you back (satire is legitimate abuse is not).”

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