TORIES and councillors caught up in racism scandals – an iconic duo, if ever there was one ... and in this case, the party's protests have backfired in a big way.
A few days ago we published a story about calls for North Lanarkshire Tory councillor Stephen Goldsack to resign.
You can read about the latest on that story here. Basically, he was accused of racism over alleged comments made during a planning committee meeting about a mosque.
He denied being a racist, and denied making discriminatory comments. Councillor Meghan Gallacher, who leads the Tory group on the council, went even further, demanding an apology from the SNP for "dragging his name through the mud".
And Gallacher wasn't too pleased about our front page, either.
"So the @ScotNational prints a story that has no truth and no weight? Actually pathetic."
That wasn't all. She went on: "The fact of the matter is that, after investigating this matter, no discriminatory comments were made. No one in my group is islamophobic, and it is disgusting that your group is trying to ruin my colleagues reputation."
And on: "No response yet from @nlc_snp? I will expect a full apology from the leader of the SNP and their Business Manager regarding their unacceptable behaviour towards my colleague"
She has yet to Tweet about the full story we have published since.
You see, in an entirely separate development, Goldsack has been expelled from the Tories after his prior ties to the British National Party emerged.
Photographic evidence which we'll publish in tomorrow's paper shows his past allegiance to the BNP.
There really isn't much need for the SNP to run his name through the mud with a past like that, is there?
We're wondering whether Gallacher will accuse her own Tory party of "trying to ruin" her colleague's reputation by suspending him for his BNP ties?
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel