An SNP councillor who claims to have been sexually assaulted by his former boss Jordan Linden has demanded reforms to how the SNP handles sex complaints.
The 25-year-old complained to party HQ a month ago about the sex pest but has criticised the lack of action by senior figures. He said Linden – who resigned as an SNP councillor for North Lanarkshire after the Sunday Mail revealed the claims last week – climbed into his bed, groped and tried to kiss him while on a trip with the party’s youth wing.
Eight council colleagues are now calling for those who defended Linden to be suspended and investigated and for the party to get a grip on its sexual harassment policies so victims are protected instead of the alleged abusers.
He said: “There are people who still think Jordan is the victim. It’s completely wrong. There has been no safeguarding.
“All the rules on how to deal with sexual harassment complaints have been broken.”
It is the third time claims of sexually inappropriate behaviour have been made against Linden, 27. The man, who does not want to be named, claims he was sexually assaulted by Linden on a Young Scots for Independence (YSI) trip to Barcelona in September 2016.
The YSI is the youth wing of the SNP for members aged 16 to 30. At the time of the trip, the alleged victim was 18 and Linden was 21.
He said: “It ended up as a drunk alcoholic trip for young people, there was nothing political to it really. People were drinking from 12 in the afternoon till 1 or 2 at night.
“We were all staying in hostels, there were seven beds in the hostel, three bunk beds and one smaller normal bed. I was in there with Jordan and four other people who made the trip with us.
"We were out late most nights, catching the last train or underground home. One of the nights he climbed into my bunk bed and tried to spoon me and kiss my neck unwantedly.
"It took quite a lot of force to get him off me and get the message he should leave. It wasn’t the situation I wanted to be in.
“I’m not that way inclined. I have never been interested in that, I’m a straight man and he knew that.”
The man said after the assault, he blamed himself and felt guilt and anxiety afterwards.
He said: “I was asking if it did or didn’t happen. I thought maybe I had given him the wrong impression, I had been too close to him or something.”
The year after the assault Linden and the man were both elected to be councillors and Linden continued to harass him.
He said: “In group situations there have been remarks and comments, particularly about what I’m wearing. He would say ‘those trousers are quite tight.
“I went from wearing suits and looking smart to wearing baggy clothes and hoodies to try and stop him from making comments about me but it didn’t have an effect.”
Last August, the councillor said he decided to approach the SNP’s council group leader Tracey Carragher about the incident. His decision came after Sunday Mail revelations Linden had been accused of sexually harassing a young SNP member at a flat in Dundee and five other men claimed they had sexually inappropriate messages and contact with Linden during his time in the Scottish Youth Parliament.
The councillor claims he told Carragher – who took over when Linden stepped down as group leader – about the incident but said she urged him to contact the party’s press office in case the details were leaked.
He said: “There was no safeguarding, no concern for me. It’s not the way things are supposed to be treated when you’re disclosing a serious incident.
“I’ve also not heard anything back from HQ since I complained in February. The party promised to reform how this was handled and it needs to happen now so people are protected and taken seriously.”
Last week, we published a secret recording of a party meeting which discussed previous allegations showed North Lanarkshire Council party colleagues calling for Linden to be protected.
It was claimed discussions had taken place between former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and the party’s council leaders to secure the future of the party group in the wake of the Linden scandal.
Eight SNP councillors have now written to the party’s general secretary Lorna Finn, compliance officer Ian McCann and other senior figures to demand Carragher be suspended pending investigation into why she failed to take action on the man’s complaint.
The letter, signed by councillors Beth Baudo, Gerry Brennan, David Crichton, Paul Di Mascio, Greg Lennon, Barry McCluskey and Cameron McManus, said they wanted to “formally complain about the serious and continual failings implemented by the North Lanarkshire SNP Leadership Team and their frequent abuse of power”.
The group have called for “the immediate suspension” of Carragher and her deputes to “allow for a formal investigation to take place into failures to safeguard the victim” and “the complete dereliction of duty and inability to abide by any aspect of the party’s policy on sexual harassment.”
They have also called for the victim’s claims to be investigated.
An SNP spokesman said the party had now contacted the alleged victim following our report, and said: “The National Secretary has reached out to the complainant to offer to meet.
“Cllr Carragher does not recognise the description of events in the open letter and is clear she received no complaints of harassment.
The SNP’s NEC has agreed a new protocol for how complaints of sexual
harassment by a member will be heard.”
The SNP’s National Secretary contacted the alleged victim yesterday. He received an email apologising for the delay only after the Sunday Mail yesterday questioned why the party had not offered support.
Linden did not respond to requests for comment but previously denied the man’s claims.
Attempts were made to contact Carragher for comment.
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