A former SNP council leader who has been jailed for sex offences against young men has been urged to apologise to his victims by Scotland’s First Minister.
SNP leader John Swinney insisted it was “necessary, appropriate and essential” that Linden, who formerly served as the leader of North Lanarkshire Council, say sorry to his victims.
The First Minister made the call as Linden was jailed for 18 months after previously being found guilty of multiple sex offences against young men and teenagers.
Linden, who left the SNP in 2024, was convicted of 10 separate offences in March following a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court, including five sexual assaults.
He was also found guilty of charges involving sexual communication and of engaging in a course of conduct causing fear or alarm.
He had earlier resigned as the leader of North Lanarkshire Council in July 2022 after reports of alleged sexual harassment emerged, leading to the collapse of the SNP administration in the area.
Speaking after the former councillor was jailed, Mr Swinney told journalists: “I think an apology would be necessary, appropriate and essential.”
He said that the court had decided that “the severity of the offences” meant a prison sentence was required, with the First Minister adding: “That indicates there has been suffering here and there should be an apology forthcoming from Jordan Linden for that.”
Linden’s offences spanned the period 2011 to 2021 and took place at locations in North Lanarkshire and elsewhere.
In addition to jailing the 30-year-old for 18 months, Sheriff Christopher Shead placed him on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
Sentencing him at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Sheriff Shead said he had considered submissions from Linden’s lawyer David Moggach KC – who had urged him to consider a non-custodial sentence – but had decided that jail was the only appropriate way of dealing with matter.
The sheriff said: “The first question the court requires to address is if a custodial sentence is the only disposal.
“It’s necessary for the court to consider the number of offences of which Mr Linden was convicted which includes sexual assault and to balance those against factors favourable to Mr Linden advanced by Mr Moggach including that Mr Linden has no previous convictions.
“I’ve reflected on the submissions of Mr Moggach and reached the conclusion that the nature of the offences is such that the test has been met and that custody is the only appropriate disposal.”
Mr Moggach told the court how Linden had been diagnosed with autism in 2021 and has not offended since then, with the lawyer also noting the former council leader was a teenager at the time of some of the earlier offences.
Mr Moggach said: “In 2021 he was diagnosed with autism and it highlighted his lack of awareness of social boundaries and may go some way to explain the behaviour.”
The lawyer told the court: “Subsequent to 2021 there has been no offending.
“There is an awareness on Mr Linden’s part of how his behaviour was simply unacceptable.
“He now appreciates that he overstepped certain boundaries and now knows where those boundaries are.
“This has been a hugely significant and sobering experience for him.”
Following the conviction, Mr Swinney ordered an independent review of the SNP’s processes in the wake of concerns about the handling of complaints against Linden.
Commenting afterwards, Mr Swinney said he hoped the sentence gives Linden’s victims “some assurance he has has been held to account for the unacceptable behaviour that they experienced”.
He added: “We have already strengthened complaints handling within the SNP, I consider it to be robust. But I want independent scrutiny to determine whether it is sufficiently robust.”
The SNP’s political opponents have criticised the way the party handled the allegations of Linden’s misconduct, with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accusing them of “double standards”.
Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Uddingston and Bellshill Meghan Gallacher said: “My first thoughts are with the victims who suffered at the hands of this vile predator.
“Jordan Linden repeatedly abused his position of trust with devastating effect and he shamefully still refuses to apologise for his abhorrent crimes.
“John Swinney and other senior figures within the SNP still have serious questions to answer about what they knew and when about Linden’s crimes.”
