Mr Chris McEleny, aged 37, appeared in Greenock Sheriff court faced with charger for threatening and abusive behaviour. 

McEleney was previously the council group leader for the SNP in the Inverclyde area however changed career direction to Instead support Mr Alex Salmond and the Alba Party.  He is the General Secretary of the Alba Party. 

McEleny was accused of threatening and abusive behaviour following an incident on Kelly Street where he allegedly was shouting, swearing and banging on a door. He was then said to cause damage to the door when he forcibly opened it in September 2021.  He denied the charges. 

On the day of the incident, the accused had been to watch his local football team, Greenock Morton, before going for dinner and a few drinks at Kempock Street in Gourock. He was then invited back to a party at a close by flat on Kelly Street. Upon arriving at Kelly Street, McEleny entered the flat and pushed the door open to the dwelling house where he through the party was being hosted. Upon knocking the door, the witness in the case answered the door armed with a hammer asking why McEleney was at his home. 

McEleny told the court: “It was a startling and shocking experience.” 

His defence agent told the court that the witness in the case was in fact the aggressive party and the trigger to the incident. The court heard hot this victim ‘advanced towards the accused with the hammer.’ They continued to detail to the court that McEleny was well intentioned when he entered the property and that there has been a misunderstanding. 

Sheriff Morag Fraser found the charges against McEleny to be not proven. 

After this outcome, McEleny stated, ‘”I will leave others to take their own view on how this case was swiftly put to prosecution in contrast to how other much higher profile cases in Scottish Political life seem to be put into cold storage by the Crown and Procurator Fiscal’s Office.”