POLICE are probing an allegation of sexual assault made against the former SNP head of one of Scotland’s largest local authorities.
Jordan Linden, a former council leader in North Lanarkshire, is accused of having sexually harassed Cammie McManus during a trip abroad in 2017.
Linden, who strongly denies any wrongdoing, resigned as SNP group leader last year amid the allegations, before resigning as a councillor altogether in March.
McManus resigned from the SNP group over the party’s handling of his complaint against Linden and now sits as an independent.
The SNP group on North Lanarkshire council has seen six other councillors expelled or resign in recent weeks and months over the scandal.
READ MORE: Mass resignations 'could have been avoided' in 'beyond toxic' council if SNP listened
The five who have resigned – Beth Baudo, Gerry Brennan, Greg Lennon, Barry McLuskey and McManus – wrote to SNP national secretary Lorna Finn in March alleging there had been “continual failings by the North Lanarkshire SNP leadership team”, including a failure to investigate sexual misconduct and “abuse of power”.
Linden is also facing accusations from four other men, according to the Sunday Mail, though three of them are yet to speak to the police.
These include Jack O’Hara, a former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, who has contacted investigators alleging that Linden sent him semi-nude images and sexually explicit messages when he was just 14. Linden is alleged to have been 21 at the time.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Officers are investigating a report of a sexual assault incident having taken place in 2017. Enquiries are at an early stage and ongoing.”
First Minister Humza Yousaf (above) was asked about the ongoing scandal during a visit to Bellshill on Saturday – the ward where a by-election will be held on June 15 to fill the seat made vacant by Linden’s resignation.
Speaking alongside candidate Joseph Budd, Yousaf pledged the party would investigate how the situation was handled.
The First Minister said: “We’re absolutely holding our hands up. I as First Minister and leader of the party say that things of course could have been handled better. That’s why we’ll do the investigation.
“What we’ve got here now in North Lanarkshire is a Labour council propped up by, frankly, the Conservatives and that’s not serving the people of this area well at all.”
The SNP took control of North Lanarkshire for the first time in May 2022 after becoming the largest group on the council in the local elections that same month.
But Linden’s resignation as group leader saw the administration collapse within just months, allowing Labour to regain control over the local authority.
Yousaf accepted it had been a “challenging” period for the SNP’s North Lanarkshire group, noting his own time as leader had also posed challenges.
But he said he was “going in confident” to the by-election.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Mr Linden is not an SNP member. We have been very clear that any allegation of criminality is for the police to look into, not a political party.”
Linden said: “As I have outlined before, and I do so again, I do not accept the allegations that are being made.”
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