The SNP first learned teenagers had made sex abuse allegations against Jordan Linden seven years ago. Had they been taken seriously, there is every chance a horrifying catalogue of harassment and grooming claims which are now the subject of a police investigation could have been avoided.
Instead of taking action, party HQ appears to have completely ignored repeated deafening alarm bells over the years. Linden was continually promoted through the ranks to become leader of one of Scotland’s biggest local authorities rather than face any kind of scrutiny for his behaviour.
Even after the Sunday Mail published horrifying testimony from one man who was a child at the time of the alleged predatory abuse, the politician continued to enjoy support and protection for another year.
When the party finally did snap into action, it wasn’t to hold Linden to account, it was to ostracise his accusers and malevolently brief against this newspaper for revealing the scandal. A coordinated and persistent operation was deployed to rubbish our revelations, with rival media outlets wrongly informed our story was false and the subject of a complaint to press regulators.
Meanwhile, and even more disgracefully, those who spoke out against Linden were sidelined, demoted and expelled. It is only now after police involvement has been confirmed into complaints from two men and allegations from a further three that Humza Yousaf has finally accepted that the SNP has failed to act properly, while denying sex predators are protected.
What he didn’t do was promise to make amends or apologise to those whose lives have been ripped apart by a party they believed they could rely on. There remains serious questions for the First Minister to answer over this sorry episode, which is far from over.
One of the most pressing is why Linden enjoyed such support for so many years from some of the most senior SNP figures, despite so many warnings that he was a sex pest. Scotland’s ruling party constantly preaches of its determination to stick up for the most marginalised and vulnerable groups in society.
But for victims of sexual abuse, there is an abundance of shameful evidence that they are not included in that commitment.
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