A youth charity which dismissed serious claims of underage grooming and sexual harassment is to review its botched handling of the saga. An investigation by the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) into how it treated 2016 concerns about Jordan Linden, its former chairman, is to take place after the Sunday Mail revealed serious flaws in its process.
It comes after a series of scandals about Linden, who quit as leader of North Lanarkshire Council after the Sunday Mail last month revealed he had been accused of sexually harassing a teenage SNP member in 2019.
His departure led to his party, the SNP, losing control of the council to Labour on Thursday. After we reported the allegations, several men came forward and claimed they had also been harassed and groomed by the politician three years earlier while members of the SYP.
One of the men was just 14 at the time he claims he was sent explicit images and messages by Linden, who was 21. Despite this, SYP chief executive Ben McKendrick hired a private law firm to investigate allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Linden before he dismissed them as false.
Now the charity has decided to review the investigation and initially said McKendrick would be involved in the probe before deciding against it. Instead, a private contractor, Magenta HR, has been hired to conduct the investigation.
Two men who claim to have been victims of Linden hit out at the decision to hire a private firm and are calling for an independent inquiry by the charity regulator or Scottish Government.
Separately, company accounts for the SYP show that in 2016 and 2017 the charity’s legal fees soared from around £3,000 to more than £18,000 per year. The men are now calling for an explanation as to why up to £30,000 was spent on lawyers.
Jack O’Hara previously told of how he was sent sexually explicit images and texts by Linden when he was just 14 years old.
The student, from Edinburgh, said: “It’s ridiculous that they even thought Ben should be involved in this at all. I’m angry, but not surprised, that the response to this has been another private investigation.
“There is no way this can be carried out impartially and it is time for an independent body to look at all the evidence, not a private company.”
Another man, who claims to have been sexually assaulted by Linden while at an SYP event overnight, has described the probe as “already flawed”.
He said: “I am glad SYP will review its handling of initial complaints but it is an empty gesture without an acknowledgement that me and others were badly let down. I don’t think any review could be credible without it being conducted by an entirely separate body.”
An email sent to members of the youth parliament (MSYPs) by its current chairwoman Sophie Reid following the Sunday Mail’s revelations explained that McKen-drick would be involved in the review.
She wrote: “I want to make it clear that SYP takes allegations of harassment of any kind very seriously. Although events reported in the press happened before the current board’s tenure, the board at the time of the investigation supported the approach that the staff team took.
“However, we recognise the need to review the decision-making and I will be working with Ben [McKendrick] and the staff team to ensure the correct processes were followed on this matter and any learnings are taken forward.”
McKendrick, who is also a non-executive director at the Scottish Government, has been urged to explain why he dismissed young people’s claims against Linden as untrue back in 2016.
A spokeswoman for the SYP would not confirm how much was being paid to Magenta HR for the review or explain why the charity spent as much as £30,000 on lawyers.
She said: “The review will be led by the SYP chair, an independent HR specialist from Magenta HR and an external adviser. The review will not involve the chief executive in any capacity, other than potentially providing evidence of the processes followed at the time.”
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