A LABOUR councillor who was accused of racism by the party's own leader has been selected as a candidate for May's council elections.
Davie McLachlan will stand for Scottish Labour again in the Hamilton North and East ward despite the serious claims against him from the top of the party.
The Times reported that during the Scottish Labour leadership contest in 2017, McLachlan allegedly told Anas Sarwar that Scotland was not ready for a "brown Muslim p***".
READ MORE: Aberdeenshire Council hopeful told police colleague he made ‘revenge porn’ threat
The councillor was then suspended for 15 months following a complaint by the party leader but was later cleared by an internal investigation.
The Scottish Labour Party's national executive committee readmitted McLachlan, finding there was "no case to answer".
It comes as Scottish Labour has fielded its fewest number of candidates in a council election amid reports it is struggling to find people willing to put themselves forward.
During the suspension, he spent more than a year as an independent councillor.
But now McLachlan is set to appear on the ballot in May's local elections under the Scottish Labour name.
READ MORE: Glasgow Tory candidate slammed over Nicola Sturgeon rants
Sarwar previously expressed concern with the investigation, saying: "I have consistently said that this isn’t about one individual," and adding that he was "disappointed with the process and outcome".
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Every Scottish Labour candidate is expected to abide by our values — especially with regards to opposing forms of prejudice or hatred.”
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