A SCOTTISH Tory communications manager has been reprimanded by the party after sharing a Twitter post suggesting that Adolf Hitler is Nicola Sturgeon’s father.
Paul Reoch – who has worked for Tory MSP Murdo Fraser since 2019 – shared a host of offensive posts on social media, including labelling police officers celebrating Pride a “bunch of pussies”.
Reoch further shared posts calling the First Minister a “dribbling hag”, criticising actor Brian Cox over his weight, and telling one user to “feck off” after she shared a standardised post about having joined the SNP.
The Scottish Tory staffer did so while also sharing posts calling supporters of Scottish independence “divisive” and “bitter”.
In a post on Sunday evening alongside laughing emojis and another giving the thumbs up, Reoch shared an image captioned: “Rare photo of Nicola Sturgeon and her dad at Butlins.”
The black-and-white image showed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with a young girl.
Elsewhere, Reoch shared posts drawing a similar comparison, referring to the “Natzis in Holyrood”, and suggesting that Sturgeon is a worse leader than Russian despot Vladimir Putin.
A post Reoch reshared on September 3 begins: “All hail dictator Caesar Sturgeon.”
In another post shared on Sunday, Reoch said the First Minister looked "like she hasn’t slept for months”, adding: “Whoever does her make up needs a talking to!”
Another shared on August 30 read: “Sturgeon was once referred to as a ‘dribbling hag’ by a Tory councillor candidate. The candidate was absolutely correct, Sturgeon is a ‘dribbling hag’.”
The reference was to Kathleen Leslie, the leader of the Scottish Tory group on Fife Council, who previously called the First Minister a “drooling hag”.
Elsewhere, Reoch took aim at speakers of the Scots language.
Commenting on a post in Scots from broadcaster Billy Kay, the Tory staffer said that using the “makey-up” language was “the sign of a complete twat”.
Responding to another Scots author on Twitter, Reoch wrote: “There isn’t a Scots language you dumpling, only accents, or made-up words.”
In criticism of campaigns for LGBT rights, Reoch hit out at police officers driving a car with Pride decals. He wrote: “Pathetic. Bunch of pussies.”
The Tory staffer also said that he “agreed” with the claim made in one media outlet that “we are living under a tyranny of Pride” and that “now you can be arrested just for criticising Pride”.
Actor Brian Cox was also a frequent target of Reoch’s abusive posts.
In one he wrote: “Bollocks [to Cox’s views on independence]. Think Brian Cox should stick to acting. Looks like he also enjoys Gregg’s – he’s bursting out of his blouse!”
All of the posts reported above came in the span of a single week.
SNP MSP Karen Adam said that Reoch’s conduct was a “prime example of the toxic element of British nationalism”.
She went on: “Online abuse and the type of hatred that Paul Reoch is projecting to the public is really quite worrying. Views like this used to remain on the fringes of the political sphere but we’re seeing a growing trend within British nationalist parties of this type of discourse."
Adam added: “This shows need for a code of conduct so that the British nationalist parties can address this issue within their ranks.
“In contrast, we’re seeing the SNP and other pro-independence organisations take steps to address toxic behaviour. I hope the Conservatives can follow our lead in this regard so that respectful debate can take place free from abuse.”
The Scottish Tory party forced Reoch to apologise for his social media output, and said they would be monitoring it to ensure it does not happen again. The staffer has since removed mention of his employment from his Twitter page.
A Scottish Tory spokesperson said: "These posts are unacceptable. When approached about them, Paul immediately apologised, acknowledged they were wrong, and promised posts like this would not be repeated in the future.
“We have accepted that apology, however, we will continue to monitor the situation and social media training will be provided."
Reoch said: "I am very sorry. These posts were distasteful and I fully accept they should not have happened. I have removed them and this will not happen again."
