A TORY councillor who was unmasked as being a vicious online troll has been awarded the top role in his council group.
Derek Wann, who was unveiled as being behind the abusive Twitter account Lady Whistledown, has been appointed leader of the Angus Conservative group.
He was exposed as being behind the account, which sent “misogynistic and transphobic” abuse to politicians in 2021 by The Courier.
Wann had referred to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the “Bute House golem” and appeared to make light of Dundee’s tragic record on drugs death in an attack on the MSP for the west of the city, Joe Fitzpatrick.
READ MORE: Tory councillor faces standards inquiry after being unmasked as Twitter troll
He is facing a council Standards Commission hearing into his conduct next month.
The appointment as opposition leader has sparked fury among other parties, who have said “the rot in the Conservative party runs from top to bottom”.
Ben Lawrie, the convenor of the Angus and Mearns LibDems, said: “Scotland has had enough bitterness and division. Politicians should be striving to raise the standard of public debate, not plumbing the depths like Councillor Wann.
"If this is the best that the Scottish Conservatives can do then they are clearly in more trouble than even we suspected.
"It's clear that the rot in the Conservative party runs from top to bottom. Angus needs politicians who are focused on local services and tackling the cost of living crisis, not slagging off political rivals and neighbouring towns online."
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