A council election hopeful has apologised after retweeting a message which called First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a “treasonous b***h.”
Critics say John Bell, the former SNP councillor for the Doon Valley ward, is ‘unfit for office’ and supports “misogynistic behaviour” after retweeting a troll.
Mr Bell, 65, resigned his membership of the SNP in March and is running as an independent.
He denied being a misogynist and hit back at SNP ‘dirty tricks’, claiming the party is ‘worried’ over how well his election campaign is going.
The furore is over a retweet Mr Bell made in December – while still an SNP member and councillor.
He retweeted a message from a troll of the First Minister which read: “This treasonous b!tch has got to go – yes you @NicolaSturgeon, pack your bags and walk.”
Critics are comparing Mr Bell’s behaviour to the sexism row that’s erupted at Westminster.
One anonymous source said: “Following on from the backlash to the Mail on Sunday’s atrocious misogynistic attack on Labour deputy leader, Angela Rayner, I wondered if anyone would like to challenge John Bell on his endorsement (retweet) of an anonymous troll’s misogynistic language towards the First Minister from December last year?”
Another anonymous source said: “With behaviour like this, Mr Bell is unfit for office, as this retweet clearly shows.”
Mr Bell said: "The fact that certain ‘anonymous’ persons are reduced to trolling through my Twitter account demonstrates just how worried a certain political party is about how well my election campaign is going, and how poorly their campaign is being received.”
And in a direct response to Ayrshire Live, Mr Bell said: “The gentleman who contacted you (yes, I know who it is) omitted to add the disclaimer on my profile page that, and I quote: “Retweets ain’t endorsements, y’all...”
Taking to Twitter over the Westminster furore, the First Minister said: “Solidarity from across the political divide to Angela Rayner on this. It’s a reminder of the deep misogyny women face every day.”
In March, Ayrshire Live told how Mr Bell quit the SNP party in East Ayrshire and resigned his membership.
He claimed the party, at national level, had ‘drifted to the right’ under the First Minister's leadership.
Another concern which prompted his decision to end his association with the SNP was their policy of introducing gender neutral toilets in schools.
And the party’s recently introduced, but nevertheless controversial, Schools Survey also triggered concerns with Mr Bell, who felt some questions were ‘too personal’ and ‘sensitive’.
Mr Bell added: "'Anyone who has seen my podcast interview on youtube with #TweetStreet will have seen how I utterly condemn misogyny against women in politics and in general life, and the strong stance I take in defence of the rights of women and girls – I even printed it on the front of my election leaflet.
"I'm sorry if my retweeting the comment caused offence.
"But the reason I did so was because I understood the original poster's frustration with the FM and the SNP over their inaction to address many of the issues which are affecting us in Scotland.
"I thank Ayrshire Live for giving me the opportunity to respond and set the record straight."
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