A TORY councillor who was unmasked as the figure behind a troll account has been cleared of wrongdoing by the standards watchdog.
Derek Wann, the leader of the Conservative group in Angus, was unveiled as being the owner of the “Lady Whistledown” Twitter account which posted “transphobic and misogynistic” abuse to politicians.
He was investigated by the Standards Commission for Scotland which found his comments to follow councillors and members of the public were “disrespectful and discourteous”.
Wann had referred to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the “Bute House golem” and appeared to make light of Dundee’s tragic record on drugs death in an attack on the MSP for the west of the city, Joe Fitzpatrick.
But as an elected official, the watchdog found Wann was entitled to “enhanced protection of freedom of expression” and that the comments were insufficiently offensive to warrant any action.
Wann was reminded not to make comments online that he would not in person as well as being cautioned disrespectful comments “contribute to poor standards of public debate” by the commission.
The hearing, held in Forfar on Wednesday, agreed that “on the face of it”, his comments amounted to a breach of the Councillor’s Code of Conduct but said they were “not sufficiently offensive, abusive or gratuitous” as to warrant a restriction of the enhanced freedom of speech rights Wann enjoys as a politician commenting on matters of public interest under the European Convention of Human Rights.
Paul Walker, the convenor of the Standards Commission who chaired the hearing, said: “The panel emphasised that the requirement for councillors to behave in a respectful and courteous manner towards fellow councillors and members of the public is a fundamental requirement of the Code, as it protects the public and also ensures public confidence in the role of an elected member and the council itself not undermined.
“The panel confirmed that the requirement for councillors to behave respectfully and courteously applies equally on social media as it does in person.
“Councillors should not make comments online that they would not otherwise make in person, face to face.
“The panel noted that using an anonymous account to be disrespectful and discourteous only served to contribute to poor standards of public debate.”
Wann was unmasked following an investigation by The Courier newspaper.
He deleted offensive posts following the paper's first exposé, which the commission noted suggested Wann acknowledged the comments were in poor taste.
Wann was appointed leader of the Angus Tory group earlier this year, despite the standards probe.
