Angus MacNeil

Angus MacNeil was born on 21 July 1970 in Barra. He was educated at Castlebay Secondary School on the island of Barra and the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis before attending Strathclyde University where he played shinty^[3] and in 1992 gained a degree in civil engineering.^[4]

After graduation he worked as a civil engineer for Morrison Construction and as a reporter for the Gaelic section of BBC Radio Scotland. After qualifying as a teacher at Jordanhill College in 1996, he then taught the first Gaelic Medium Class at Salen and Acharacle Primary Schools in Argyll on the Scottish mainland.

At the 2001 general election, MacNeil stood as the SNP candidate in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, coming second with 25.6% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP David Stewart.^[5]

MacNeil was elected to Parliament at the 2005 general election as MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar with 44.9% of the vote and a majority of 1,441.^[6]

In March 2006, MacNeil came to attention when he lodged a complaint with the Metropolitan Police regarding the Cash for Peerages scandal. In April 2006, he and former MP Martin Bell wrote to the Prime Minister Tony Blair calling for all appointments to the House of Lords to be suspended in the wake of the scandal.^[7]

In November 2006 he won the Best Scot at Westminster section of the Scottish Politician of the Year awards for instigating the inquiry into possible abuse of the honours system.^[8]

On 17 November 2006 MacNeil had the highest bill for travel in 2006–07.^[9] This is mainly due to the distance of his constituency from London as well as the dispersed geographical nature of the constituency.

At the 2010 general election, MacNeil was re-elected as MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar with an increased vote share of 45.7% and an increased majority of 1,885.^[10][11] He was again re-elected at the 2015 general election with an increased vote share of 54.3% and an increased majority of 4,102.^[12][13]

In June 2015 he was appointed chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee;^[14] in July 2016, chair of the International Trade Select Committee; in October 2017, a member of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy; and in April 2023, chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee.^[15]

MacNeil was again re-elected at the snap 2017 general election, with a decreased vote share of 40.6% and a decreased majority of 1,007.^[16]

In July 2019 MacNeil criticised the then Conservative leadership candidate, Boris Johnson for stating that learning English is essential for immigrants. MacNeil called English a "Germanic import" in contrast to indigenous Celtic languages.^[17][18][19]

MacNeil was again re-elected at the 2019 general election, with an increased vote share of 45.1% and an increased majority of 2,438.^[20][21]

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 was in hospital pregnant with their third child.^[32] 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.^[33]

In October 2020, he was involved in a collision with a 17 year old motorcyclist and charged with causing serious injury, to which he pleaded not guilty. His trial was delayed^[34] until May 2022 where he was found guilty of dangerous driving and fined £1,500.^[35]

MacNeil is a dual British and Irish citizen.^[36] He is a Catholic.^[37]