THE SNP has called for Anas Sarwar to tell his Labour colleagues to vote against a Tory who was suspended over social media posts about the Holocaust from becoming a council leader.
Ryan Houghton, who claimed some events of the Holocaust were "fabricated", is set to be voted into the role later this week – a move that will only be possible thanks to the votes of nine suspended Labour councillors.
Houghton was chosen by colleagues to head up the Tory group on Monday but an official vote will take place on Thursday.
Despite their suspension for teaming up with Tories in Aberdeen, earlier this year, Sarwar said he regarded the group as “Labour councillors”, also claiming “they are not former Labour colleagues, I regard them as Labour colleagues, they are Labour councillors doing a good job”.
In 2019 Houghton was suspended as a candidate in Aberdeen North over his racist internet history.
In a series of old posts made on a martial arts forum – uncovered by The National and the Twitter account @matesjacob – Ryan Houghton suggested some events around the Nazi regime’s state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews had been “fabricated”.
READ MORE: Tory councillor to lead Aberdeen Conservatives despite racist internet history
He also praised the “interesting" research of the discredited British historian and Adolf Hitler apologist David Irving. In another post, he suggested fellow users on the martial arts forum should have a debate on how the Holocaust had been “exaggerated by the victors.”
In other discussions he said he didn’t see how homosexuality was good for the human race and, in comments that will only add to claims that the Tories have an Islamophobia problem, Houghton claimed Muslims were having big families in a bid to create “Eurabia”.
Now, SNP MP for Aberdeen South, Stephen Flynn, has penned a letter to the Scottish Labour leader to intervene. In the letter, Flynn says: “As you will be aware, Tory Councillor Ryan Houghton is set to be voted in as a Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council following the election of Douglas Lumsden to the Scottish Parliament.
“To be clear, Mr Houghton will only be able to take on this role with the votes of your suspended Labour colleagues in Aberdeen.
“You have so far refused to condemn this alliance and you have even described the suspended Labour councillors as ‘colleagues’ who were the victims of a ‘political decision’.
“This despite the fact that the disgraced Labour and Tory administration remain reliant on the votes of convicted sex offender, Cllr Alan Donnelly, to retain power in the city.
“Given Aberdeen City Council now looks set to be co-led by a man who has made antisemitic, Islamophobic and homophobic remarks, I trust you will now seek to intervene and instruct your ‘colleagues’ to turn their backs on appointing Councillor Houghton as a Co-Leader of this great city."
READ MORE: Scottish Tory candidate axed after we uncover sick racist internet history
He continued: “I have admired your work in the Scottish Parliament in the fight against all forms of racism and discrimination and you will know that actions speak louder than words.
“On that basis, I am sure you will agree that you cannot sit silent on this issue. Any failure to act will be an endorsement of the votes of your suspended colleagues in favour of this Tory Councillor.
“This announcement has caused uproar in Aberdeen and, given that the vote will take place this week, I expect an early response and even quicker action.”
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