After four years of SNP cover-ups and lies over Jordan Linden sex scandal, First Minister is FINALLY forced to say sorry to his victims
John Swinney was forced to make a humble apology to the victims of SNP sex predator Jordan Linden.
But four years after complaints about crooked Linden were ignored by the SNP, the First Minister has failed to own up to her party’s failings over the scandal.
He finally apologized today; Three days after Linden was convicted of ten sexual offenses and three days after The Mail confronted him at a pro-independence rally.
But his apology was described as ‘pathetic and despicable’ by his political opponents
His apology came after three men who were abused by the 30-year-old former SNP council leader called for an investigation into the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) by charity regulators and compared the organization to ‘The Hunger Games’, a dystopian film about teenagers forced to fight to the death.
Mr Swinney told the MoS: ‘The first thing I want to say is that I would like to apologize to everyone who has been affected by the whole process and experience here.
‘Many issues with Jordan Linden’s behavior have come to light.’
First Minister says she is sorry for those affected by Linden and ‘the whole process’
Jordan Linden abused young men and boys for a decade, including while he was an SNP councilor
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon was former ally of disgraced SNP predator Jordan Linden
He repeated that he had ordered an “independent review” of the SNP’s complaints-handling procedure from 2022 to “make sure it is fit for purpose for the future” and said: “We must make sure that when it receives complaints it deals with them properly and I am confident that we will do that.”
Swinney claimed he had no prior knowledge of Linden’s misconduct ‘until it became public.’
But his apology was described as ‘pathetic and despicable’ by his political opponents.
Meghan Gallacher of the Scottish Conservatives said: ‘John Swinney’s pathetic, vile apology comes too late and will be a bit of an icebreaker for the victims of Jordan Linden, who has been gaslit by the SNP in a desperate bid to save the party’s reputation.
‘Victims of this predator and the Scottish public will find it difficult to believe that ‘Honest John’ knew nothing about this scandal until it became public knowledge, while there were frantic efforts within SNP circles to cover it up.
‘It is vital that Swinney’s so-called independent review of SNP complaints procedures and protection gains the trust of Linden’s victims.’
Scottish Labor deputy leader Jackie Baillie called on Swinney to ‘come clean’ about who in the SNP was responsible for the Linden ‘cover-up’
He said: ‘If he continues to refuse to do so there is only one conclusion: John Swinney is not on the side of the victims of Jordan Linden’s sexual abuse, he is on the side of those who covered up the abuser.’
The party was first warned about the predator’s behavior in 2017 by a concerned young SNP member and former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament who had seen Linden’s predatory behavior first-hand.
The man, who showed the Mail on Sunday his emails to the SNP, told the party nearly a decade ago that he was ‘concerned that Jordan Linden was unfit to represent the SNP as a political organisation’.
He described what happened within SYP and said: ‘I hope you will look into these details and question Jordan Linden about his previous behavior.’
In August 2022, when details of a Linden assaulting a teenage SNP member in Dundee in 2019 were made public, the man contacted the SNP once again to raise the alarm.
He wrote: ‘Given the various reports… particularly the 2019 incident… I believe that re-examining Linden’s status within the party would be the best course of action. ‘Particularly the recent allegations that Linden sexually assaulted an individual…should be enough to re-examine this case’.
His pleas were completely ignored and Linden remained an SNP member until resigning voluntarily in 2023.
Asked about the warning emails, Mr Swinney said he had ‘no knowledge of it until it became public’.
A whistleblower councilor who claimed she was assaulted and harassed by Linden on North Lanarkshire Council said the SNP was ‘complicit’ in the cover-up of Linden’s crimes.
Cameron McManus, who reported Linden to the police in 2023, said: ‘The SNP is complicit in this. They were warned about Linden not only by me but also by others, but they did nothing.
‘It’s complete nonsense for them to announce a review of their process, because they did the same thing years ago and the outcome was never made public.
‘They need to explain what the outcome was and why what they are doing now is different.
‘This is an attempt to ignore questions about Jordan ahead of the election. This is completely unacceptable.’
