The Scottish Labour party has been criticised for putting a former MSP who made “deeply sexualised and racist remarks” about a 15-year-old girl on to its shortlist for a parliamentary seat in Glasgow.
Frank McAveety, the former MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, was recorded calling a 15-year-old girl “dark” and “dusky” and describing her as “very nice and very slim” during a Holyrood committee meeting in 2010.
The girl was understood to be on a placement with the Scottish Green party at the time.
During a break in committee proceedings, McAveety was recorded saying: “There’s a very attractive girl in the second row, dark … and dusky. We’ll maybe put a wee word out for her.”
He added: “She’s very attractive looking, very nice, very slim … the heat’s getting to me.” McAveety continued: “She looks kinda … she’s got that Filipino look. You know … the kind you’d see in a Gauguin painting. There’s a wee bit of culture.”
McAveety, who was married at the time, apologised for the comments and announced his resignation from his role as convener of a Holyrood committee. He has since held a number of roles in politics and was leader of Glasgow city council between 2015 and 2017.
McAveety made a joint application for the Glasgow North East and Glasgow East seats in Westminster. He was shortlisted alongside the Glasgow councillor Maureen Burke.
Scottish Labour suspended the Glasgow East and Glasgow North selections last week after local activists reportedly tried to block some candidates from standing. It is understood not to be linked to complaints about McAveety’s previous comments.
Labour Women’s Network (LWN) has criticised Scottish Labour for “turning a blind eye” on the “deeply sexualised and racist remarks”. Claire Reynolds, the chair of the LWN, said: “LWN has done a huge amount of work within the party on pushing the party to improve sexual harassment procedures, to stop the likelihood of incidents taking place and creating a process that’s as fair as it can be.
“So it’s really, really disgusting and enraging to see someone who has been caught red-handed, making deeply sexualised and racist remarks in a workplace while in a position of power, being further empowered by the selections process. We must have due diligence done on all Labour candidates, especially if they may have safeguarding risks.”
In a statement, the LWN said: “Selection processes are rightly devolved but need to protect women and girls is universal. Men whose behaviour raises red flags should not be further empowered.”
Labour’s selections process has already come under criticism, with Keir Starmer accused of purging leftwingers from the party and blocking leftwing candidates. Momentum, a grassroots group supportive of the Labour party, claimed the entire process was “now wholly discredited”.
A Momentum spokesperson said: “Across the country, popular, local, trade union-backed candidates of the left have been blocked by the Starmer machine, under the flimsiest of pretexts. Today, the leadership’s claim that this is merely ‘due diligence’ lies in tatters. McAveety is simply the latest scandal-ridden candidate of the Labour right to sail through to shortlisting stage: apparently demeaning, sexist comments are no barrier to becoming a Labour MP, so long as you’re a friend of the leadership.”
The Scottish Labour party and McAveety did not respond to an approach for comment.
• This article was amended on 23 January 2023. A previous version incorrectly stated that the GMB union backed Frank McAveety’s application.
