A lawyer has been slapped with a £2,000 fine for allegedly comparing Paisley to a Nazi concentration camp.
Neil McPherson was fined by the Law Society of Scotland after posts were made on Facebook that Auschwitz was “like Paisley but without the social problems”.
He is also said to have described people living in the town, as “ugly” and “thick”.
The comments were investigated by the Law Society’s professional conduct sub-committee which found that the posts were “offensive and anti-Semitic”.
Mr McPherson, from Ayrshire, tried to claim the posts were made under a fake account, but committee members found it was “more likely than not” that he was the author.
The solicitor has been ordered to pay a £2,000 fine to the society.
He must also pay £100 compensation to Arnon Nachmani, the Israeli lawyer from Paisley who complained about the posts. He has said he will donate the cash to the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
Mr Nachmani, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, spotted the comments eight months after they were posted in March 2020.
He said: “When I saw the comment online, I found it really offensive, in particular because I am an Israeli lawyer who was born in Paisley and lost family in the Holocaust.
“So I decided to make a complaint to the Law Society of Scotland, and I’ve just been informed that they agreed with me that these comments were anti- Semitic in nature and were offensive and unbecoming of a solicitor.
“I was informed that Mr McPherson is to pay £100 to me as compensation, money which I intend to donate to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem.
“It has taken some time, but I’m pleased with the result.
“Sometimes people make jokes and we just accept them, but that joke was in really bad taste and he’s a lawyer who should know better.”
The original comments are no longer on Facebook, but screenshots of them appear to show Mr McPherson commenting on another user’s visit to Auschwitz.
The post states: “Bit like Paisley but without the social problems.”
Another post on a separate occasions stated: “Paisley folk aren’t just ugly, they’re thick as well.”
The professional conduct committee censured Mr McPherson and said a note of the unsatisfactory professional conduct will be placed on his record.
A document outlining the committee’s decision states: “The sub committee was satisfied that the material was both offensive and anti-Semitic.
“It added that it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr McPherson wrote the posts, but was “satisfied that it was more likely than not that the solicitor was the author of the offending material”.
Download the FREE Renfrewshire Live app now for all the latest news, features and sport in your area. Available on both Android and Apple. Download here:smarturl.it/RenfrewLiveSocial
