Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Gregor Young

Former activist guilty of sending 'abusive' messages to politicians, court rules

David Llewelyn was found guilty of sending threatening messages to Angus Robertson (left) and George Galloway (right)

A FORMER Alba activist has been found guilty of sending threatening online messages to George Galloway and Angus Robertson.

David Llewelyn, who also campaigned with the SNP, denied the charges but was this week found guilty following a trial at Edinburgh’s Sheriff Court.

Sentencing has been deferred until later in August for social work reports to be prepared, Edinburgh Live reported.

Llewelyn, from Royston Mains in Edinburgh, was found to have behaved in a threatening or abusive manner towards Constitution Secretary Robertson.

In a post on Facebook, the independence activist said that the SNP MSP and his wife should be “dumped”, adding: “In the Water of Leith.”

The post, uploaded in January 2021, read: “Angus Robertson says the game’s a bogey. Time him and his social climbing wife are dumped. In the Water of Leith.”

Robertson told the court that the post was “aimed at causing upset and that is exactly what it did”.

He said that his home and constituency office had been near the Water of Leith, and that the words used brought to mind “the dumping of a body”.

Llewelyn, 61, was also found guilty of posting abusive messages toward Galloway between July and October 2020.

He had posted saying: “If you ever see [Galloway] under a Union Jack with a Tory then please shoot him.”

This had been a reference to Galloway’s own words and his announcement in the run-up to the 2021 Holyrood election that he would be voting Conservative in an attempt to shore up support for the Union.

In 2014, in an interview with Prospect Magazine, Galloway had said: “If you ever see me standing under a Union Jack shoulder-to-shoulder with a Conservative, please shoot me.”

Llewelyn was further found to have posted a doctored picture purporting to show the All For Unity politician engaging in a sexual act with an animal.

Galloway (above) told the court: “It purported to show me in an act of coitus with an animal. It doesn’t get much worse than that – it is grotesque and is totally revolting.

“I have been in politics a long time but I do not think I have seen a worse piece of imagery regarding myself.”

The Alba activist was also found to have caused Galloway fear and alarm by encouraging people on social media to register the politician’s email address with adult websites.

Galloway claimed the move had led to him receiving “an immediate flooding of pornographic content”.

Llewelyn had been active in campaigning for the Alba Party, with a report in the Scottish Sun saying he was an “election campaign organiser” ahead of the 2021 Holyrood elections. He resigned two months ago.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.