A prominent Aberdeenshire businessman and community stalwart has found himself at the centre of a major row over offensive online comments about gypsies, gay people and refugees.
Expletive-strewn posts on the Twitter account of Inverurie Community Council secretary Eric Simpson were exposed by a political blog.
Leading SNP figures demanded action by the Conservatives against Mr Simpson, who was a volunteer activist for Colin Clark’s successful bid to snatch the Gordon seat from ex-first minister Alex Salmond.
But a Conservative party spokesman said that Mr Simpson was not a party member and had merely volunteered during the election campaign – even though he nominated Mr Clark officially.
Mr Simpson’s @elginloon59 account had been taken down yesterday and he could not be reached for comment.
But screenshots revealed some of the posts which have caused offence – most of which cannot be re-printed by the Press and Journal.
They included racist and homophobic references to a reality TV star and a prominent politician, a foul-mouthed rant about “thieving” gypsies and a four-letter tirade against refugees, who it said were “not wanted” in Scotland.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin said: “I am appalled by the offensive, racist language used on this social media account.
“Inverurie Community Council has been very involved in welcoming Syrian refugees who have moved to the north-east and his comments on this are not a reflection of the community as a whole.”
Former Moray MP Angus Robertson, the SNP’s deputy leader, said he had received offensive comments from the Twitter account. He added: “Action must be taken.”
A Conservative party spokesman said: “If Angus Robertson or Gillian Martin are genuinely concerned about this Twitter activity, they should alert the police.”
Police Scotland said they had not received any formal complaints.