A Labour general election candidate has been suspended after being accused of a string of motoring offences – including drink-driving.
Masoomul Sumon Hoque appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to face five charges involving a blue Maserati Quattroporte 4.2 V8.
The offences are all alleged to have been committed on May 1 last year in Aberdeen’s Bridge Street.
It is alleged the former Aberdeen University student drove the luxury saloon while over the limit, without a licence and while it was not covered by an MoT certificate.
Prosecutors claim Hoque got behind the wheel of the car with 44 micrograms of alcohol in his breath. The legal limit at the time was 35mcg, however it has now been reduced to 22mcg.
It is further alleged that the Labour hopeful for the Banff and Buchan seat abandoned the car in Bridge Street, causing an obstruction.
It is also alleged that when officers asked Hoque to identify the driver of the car, he refused.
The 32-year-old denied all the charges against him.
Last night, the Scottish Labour Party confirmed it had suspended Hoque following his court appearance.
One source said he had failed to disclose that he had been accused of driving offences during the candidate selection process and the situation only came to light after his court appearance.
But his name will still appear on the ballot paper as a Scottish Labour candidate because the party is prevented from removing it under electoral law.
This means voters in Banff and Buchan will be denied the opportunity to officially back Labour at the ballot box.
The source said the party would not provide Mr Hoque with any of the essential resources, canvassers and financial support needed to fight a general election campaign should he continue in his bid to become an MP.
Mr Hoque’s suspension will remain in place until the outcome of his trial on May 21.
A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said: “Sumon Hoque has been suspended from representing the Labour Party and we have, therefore, withdrawn support from him as the general election candidate.”
Hoque, of 39 King’s Crescent, Aberdeen, was educated at Sunnybank Primary in Aberdeen and Mackie Academy in Stonehaven.
He then went on to gain his degree at Aberdeen University.
In an interview with the Press and Journal earlier this week, he said he started his working life in business development at the Score Group in Peterhead.
He also worked for Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce and NFU Mutual.
More recently, he said he had been working as a freelance events planner and also in television production.
The SNP has held the Banff and Buchan seat since Alex Salmond defeated the “Buchan Bulldog”, Conservative Sir Albert McQuarrie, in 1987.