RUTH Davidson has been urged to “throw the racists out of her party”.
The SNP’s James Dornan accused the Tory chief of hypocrisy after the party moved to suspend Sebastian Leslie, the Aberdeenshire councillor who refused to pay council tax on one of his castles.
Dornan asked why Davidson was “happy to let the bigots and extremists remain in the Scottish Tory ranks,” while chucking out the tax dodgers.
The MSP pointed to a number of Tory representatives, including South Ayrshire councillor Derek McCabe, who, as The National revealed earlier this year, posted candid shots of members of the public alongside discriminatory and offensive comments.
He also singled out Moray councillor Donald Gatt, a defector from UKIP, who said the poor “shouldn’t have kids”.
Dalry and West Kilbride councillor Todd Ferguson questioned the relevance of the views of an SNP candidate because she was born in the Netherlands. Ferguson apologised for the remarks but then doubled down with a Twitter rant where he claimed he had been the victim of a witch hunt and highlighted that the SNP representative was “not a citizen”.
All of them remain in the party. Dornan said: “These attitudes cannot be tolerated in Scotland, especially not in public office. It’s time for Ruth Davidson to finally stand up to and throw the racists out of her own party. Condemning tax dodging whilst condoning racism is an insult to minority and vulnerable groups across Scotland.”
The SNP MSP was criticised earlier this week, following Davidson’s decision to open up about her past battles with mental health.
Dornan, who also spoken candidly about his own depression, tweeted: “I congratulated Ruth on her bravery in writing about her mental health. However the whole ‘I never want to be PM’ made me instantly think of Michael Heseltine. In Scotland she is recognised as a vacuous, stand for nothing politician who will never be FM.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Dornan should suspend himself from speaking in public or through press releases.”
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