An SNP equalities officer has apologised for a series of social media outbursts including one threatening violence against women. In now deleted posts, Cameron Downing, 23, said he wanted to “beat the f*** out of some terfs and transphobes”.
In another, he claimed: “I f****** hate terfs and transphobes with such a passion they make me want to SCREAM!” Terf – meaning trans-exclusionary radical feminist – is a derogatory term used against women who do not recognise the gender identity of trans women.
Downing has been an equalities officer for the SNP’s London branch since August 2022 and previously worked in the same role in 2021. When confronted about the Twitter posts, he said: “I apologise for these tweets and for any offence caused to the LGBTQ+ community and have long since deleted them.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton said: “This is abhorrent language for someone in such a position to be using in relation to this debate. Given the sensitive nature of the subject, there is an onus on everyone involved to discuss it in a respectful and civilised way – not least an equalities officer for the SNP.”
Downing has also worked as a contact tracer at NHS Lothian and is an aspiring actor. The SNP declined to comment but gave guidance that the social media messages – made in 2020 – had been deleted and insisted that Downing didn’t have an office-bearing role.
Pressure group For Women Scotland said: “The SNP seem to actively want mindless thugs in their ranks – as long as it is only women they want to hurt.”
One SNP party member added: “I will not turn up to campaign or even vote in any election until the party seriously tackles its problem with misogyny. I will not vote for a party that tolerates speech encouraging violence against women.”
The case highlights a bitter divide within the SNP over attitudes to the debate on gender. In August, Nationalist MP Joanna Cherry claimed she had been “cancelled” and “erased from history” by her party in a scathing attack on its leadership.
She said she was offered no support when she received a rape threat after she was sacked from the front bench for her criticism of the Scottish Government ’s gender reforms.
The Gender Reform Act – introduced to Holyrood several months ago – plans to reduce to six months the time it takes for transgender people to get a certificate recognising their chosen gender.
Applicants would first have to live as their acquired gender for a minimum of three months before seeking a gender recognition certificate, with a further three-month period of “reflection” being required before this can be confirmed.
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