A FORMER Tory councillor who has repeatedly claimed Islam has “at its core a fanatical hatred of Jews and Western society” on social media is being investigated by Argyll and Bute Council, The National understands.
Argyll and Bute Council has received a number of complaints from concerned residents about the conduct of now Independent councillor Tommy Macpherson on his Facebook page.
He used his council Facebook page in December to post: “It is my belief Islam has at its core a fanatical hatred of Jews and Western society and we are, through our weak, woke, political correctness, which is absolute blind stupidity on our part, willingly importing it.
“That is my opinion, my belief, neither ignorant nor naive. I consider myself a patriot, proud of our national and cultural identity; fairness, orderliness, inclusiveness and respect for social norms. There is no shame."
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Macpherson (below) reshared this comment again a few days ago, tagging in that post the Glasgow Friends of Israel, Edinburgh Friends of Israel, as well as Unionist Facebook groups.
Elsewhere, the council has received complaints about him endorsing a comment on his page that suggested SNP Argyll and Bute MP Brendan O’Hara wasn’t Scottish.
An Ian Jamieson, who prolifically posts on MacPherson’s page, said: “Brendan O’Hara sounds as Scottish as a leprechaun…is their any real Scottish people who vote for the SNP!”
Macpherson’s reply to this was: “Brilliant Ian…lite banter for an early Sunday morning.”
The National has also been sent screenshots from Macpherson’s page in which Jamieson has accused Humza Yousaf of “listening for hate crime against the paddystinians”.
After offering MacPherson a right of reply, he replied to The National with a picture of a fist covered in Union flag colours accompanied by the phrase "100% British". There was no further comment.
Rickeera Kaur, who has sent several complaints to Argyll and Bute Council, has been told by the local authority that her complaint is being looked at by the monitoring officer.
On Macpherson’s comments, Kaur told The National: “He is misrepresenting his local community, putting out a message that it’s okay to be racist in that local community.
“Argyll is a very accepting community and he is causing division by creating a forum in which people can share hateful messages.
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“This is all in contrast to the Ethical Standards Commissioner code of conduct for councillors which says they should foster good relations between different groups of people.
“If he is not able to conduct his role as a councillor and abide by that code of conduct, should we still be paying him through our tax money to represent our community?”
Kaur has called on the council to “put a view out publicly” about Macpherson’s comments.
The Lochgilphead resident said around 30 to 40 people had submitted complaints to the council this week after MacPherson reamplified his views on Islam.
In her complaint she said Macpherson was “promoting division in the community” and “providing a forum for hatred” as she demanded to know whether the council viewed his conduct as acceptable.
She stressed a campaign is being prepared “should the response not be satisfactory”.
Complaints have apparently also been sent to the Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) and the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO).
A spokesperson for the council said: "We give complaints made to the council all due consideration. We do not however comment on the role individual councillors may or may not have in complaints.”
The ESC said it could not comment. The SPSO has been approached for comment.
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