A senior Edinburgh councillor has been left 'shaken' after being attacked while delivering newsletters in his constituency. Kevin Lang, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrat group in Edinburgh City Council, says he was grabbed by the throat and sworn at by an angry voter in South Queensferry.
Mr Lang believes the man waited for him to pass after earlier posting a newsletter through his door. He says the enraged man followed him down the street as he attempted to avoid the confrontation before assaulting him and stuffing the leaflet down his shirt.
The Liberal Democrat leader says while he has received verbal abuse before he has never seen an incident like it in his 25 years in politics. Writing on social media he slammed the 'intimidation' and said it has 'no place in a free and democratic society'.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: "I was quite shaken up I've never had a situation like that and 25 years. I was out delivering my newsletter door to door to people's letter boxes and I had delivered this gentleman's newsletter about 15 minutes before because I was coming up the other side of his road.
"He had clearly been waiting for me and he came out of his house and started shouting profanities at me. He was being very aggressive and I was walking away from him.
"The advice that we get given by professionals is to try to avoid interactions and so that's what I tried to do. But he clearly wanted confrontation."
Mr Lang says it was at this point the man grabbed him by the throat and 'forcibly shoved' the leaflet down his shirt before shouting more abuse as he walked back to his house. He continued: "I've been a councillor for five years, and I've been involved in politics for 25 years.
"You get verbal abuse. You get insults.
"But I've never in my time had someone put their hands on me simply for the act of delivering a newsletter. I'm just doing the job that I was elected a month ago to do.
"I'm proud to be a councillor and I'm not going to let anyone intimidate me or stop me. But I'm concerned these kinds of incidents are becoming more frequent."
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton claimed on social media that Mr Lang had been assaulted by an “SNP supporter''. He wrote: “Completely unacceptable. I’ve spoken with Kevin and this was a politically motivated assault by an SNP supporter.
“The guy in question can now explain his particular brand of civic and joyous nationalism to Police Scotland.” Former Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, added: "It takes a lot to shake Kevin so this must have been bad.
"If they have to resort to violence to make their political point it means they don’t have a very good point to make." SNP councillor for Leith Adam McVey wrote: "So sorry to read this Kevin, I hope you’re ok.
"Violence will never have a place in our City, our politics & there will always be more that unites decent people, whatever their views, than divides us. Hope Police take strong action."
When asked for a response from the Lib Dems, the party sent a further statement from Mr Lang. It said: "I have been doing politics a long time so I’m used to shouty, angry people but this is the first time I’ve ever been physically assaulted.
"This morning, I was simply delivering my councillor newsletter around my ward, when a man came out of his house, grabbed me by the throat and stuffed the newsletter down my shirt, using all kinds of profanity as he did so.
"Naturally, I have reported the incident to the police. No matter what divides us, this kind of intimidation and abuse of people you disagree with has no place in a free and democratic society."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of an assault on a man in the Dundas Avenue area of South Queensferry which happened around 11.10am on Sunday, 7 August. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
