A sex pest former councillor attended a lavish garden party hosted by the King and Queen, the Record can reveal.
Disgraced Jordan Linden can be seen smiling in a picture outside the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Linden was an SNP rising star and leader of North Lanarkshire council until he was accused by multiple people of sexual harassment.
He quit as leader and resigned from the local authority in March.
The Sunday Mail also reported that police are at the early stages of investigating an allegation of sexual assault against him.
A photograph seen by this newspaper shows Linden, who was wearing a kilt, outside the King’s residence near Holyrood.
A source said he was there as a guest of a pub in Lanarkshire.
The garden party is a traditional part of Holyrood Week attended by the great and the good of Scottish society.
Linden said: “I was invited to attend the King’s Garden Party at Holyroodhouse and I accepted this invitation.”
According to the Sunday Mail, five young men had claimed to have been groomed, harassed or assaulted by Linden when they were members of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
One of the alleged victims was 14 when he claimed Linden sent him semi-nude images and sexual messages.
Another man, who was 17 at the time, claims to have been sexually assaulted while at an overnight SYP event.
Jack O’Hara, an events worker, joined the SYP in March 2015 and was among those who told lawyers he had been sent unsolicited images by Linden when he was just 14.
He claimed investigators were more focussed on accusing him of wrongdoing than dealing with the allegations against Linden.
The history student from Edinburgh said: “There were a lot of people in the youth parliament who came from maybe broken homes, difficult backgrounds, had been bullied or just didn’t have a lot of friends at school.
The SNP lost control of the council to Labour after Linden's resignation.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
