A North Lanarkshire councillor who alleges he was sexually harassed by disgraced former SNP group leader Jordan Linden is considering going to the police.
Cammie McManus, who resigned from the party last week along with six colleagues following disciplinary hearings over a council vote, claims he has been left with little option after the party failed to deal with his complaints.
The Murdostoun ward councillor left the group along with Paul Di Mascio and David Crichton who were expelled, and Barry McCluskey, Beth Baudo, Gerry Brennan and Greg Lennon who were all suspended, after they contested a motion about the group’s committee roles brought by leader Tracy Carragher at a full meeting of the council.
Cllr McManus, who is now sitting as an independent, has waived his anonymity and told our sister title the Sunday Mail that his mental health is suffering.
“The SNP has put my mental health at stake,” he said. “I’ve been put on anti-depressants due to the situation.
“I’ve suffered continuous panic attacks because I don’t know what the next email or phone call is going to be about.”
Jordan Linden, 29, was forced to resign as council leader last July following accusations by a teenager that he had groped and sexually assaulted him at a party in Dundee in 2019. He quit the SNP in February this year after details of the complaint by Cllr McManus were revealed in the press.
The 25-year-old councillor, is one of several people – including a teenager – who have made allegations that Linden had sexually assaulted or sexually harassed them. Cllr McManus claims he went on to endure years of harassment by Linden, while both were North Lanarkshire councillors.
He also claims that current North Lanarkshire group leader Tracy Carragher ignored his complaints.
He said: “Group leader Tracy Carragher is ignoring the sexual allegations about Jordan Linden.
“They’re claiming we’ve brought the party into disrepute but why it is us who have brought the party into disrepute when there are people in the party who are openly protecting a sex pest?
“It’s the continued protection of their friend rather than doing the right thing.”
Labour took back control of the council following Linden’s resignation, with Airdrie SNP councillors Michael and Sophia Coyle quitting the party and voting against them. They’ve now lost 10 members in a year.
“It’s a mess under Tracy’s leadership and HQ are more than happy to allow her to lead,” Cllr McManus added.
“In the resignation email I got from national secretary Lorna Finn, she’s more than happy to sit back and allow this to be dealt with by the council group. They are aware of the situation in North Lanarkshire but not doing anything about it.”
The Murdostoun councillor says he is aware of other alleged victims of Linden who have yet to come forward.
He continued: “He’s continuing his life while myself and others are feeling the injuries from the situation with him.
“I know at least another two victims not willing to come forward for personal reasons. There’s been claims for years, which party MPs and MSPs and higher up have been aware of. But they have done nothing about it. Does Jordan know where skeletons are buried, or do they not care?”
The councillor says in the coming weeks he will carefully consider what to do next.
He said: “The options I’ve got are, go to the police or just drop it. Police getting involved and having to relive the experience would be a lot. It’s quite traumatic.”
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “The allegations relate to an individual who is no longer an SNP member. The group leader disputes any suggestion she ignored an allegation by an individual. The matter has been raised with the party and will be subject to investigation. If there is any allegation of a criminal nature, then that must be made to the police rather than the party.”
Tracy Carragher, SNP group leader in North Lanarkshire, said: “The group has received resignations and, regrettably, we accept them. We do not however accept the revisionist view of events that is being claimed by those who left.
"Group members wanted to enforce standing orders for those who voted against group decisions, or who had allegations of bullying made against them.
“As councillors we all need to draw a line under this bickering and back-biting and move on to issues that impact on the people we serve.
“The SNP’s group is 100 per cent focused on helping people through this cost-of-living crisis and challenging the ruling Labour group on their failure to help the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Jordan Linden has refuted the allegations. He resigned as a councillor in March citing the "extreme impact" on his life they have had. A by-election for the vacant council seat will be held on June 15.
In 2017 he was forced to step aside as a councillor temporarily while police probed claims of sexual harassment during his time at the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP). Officers later said they had established no criminality.
Linden, an ex-SYP chair, said then the claims were false, that he had been cleared of wrongdoing in an earlier internal probe and claimed those making claims were “spreading lies”.
The Sunday Mail said Linden said: “I have no comment to make, I’ve nothing to say.”
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