Jordon Linden was convicted of 10 separate offences in March following a trial.
Jordan Linden was sentenced at Falkirk Sheriff Courtroom (Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
A former SNP council chief who was discovered responsible of a number of intercourse offences towards younger males and youngsters has been jailed for 18 months. Jordan Linden resigned because the chief of North Lanarkshire Council in July 2022 after studies of alleged sexual harassment emerged, resulting in the collapse of the SNP administration within the space.
Linden, who left the SNP in 2024, was convicted of 10 separate offences in March following a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Courtroom, together with 5 sexual assaults. He was additionally discovered responsible of costs involving sexual communication and of participating in a course of conduct inflicting concern or alarm. The offences spanned the interval 2011 to 2021 and came about at places in North Lanarkshire and elsewhere. Linden, 30, was jailed for 18 months when he appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Courtroom on Wednesday and positioned on the intercourse offenders’ register for 10 years.
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John Swinney has ordered an impartial evaluation of the SNP’s processes (Picture: Getty)
Sentencing Linden, Sheriff Christopher Shead stated he had thought-about submissions from Linden’s lawyer David Moggach KC however determined that jail was the one applicable means of coping with the matter.
He stated: “It’s crucial for the courtroom to contemplate the variety of offences of which Mr Linden was convicted which incorporates sexual assault and to steadiness these towards components beneficial to Mr Linden superior by Mr Moggach together with that Mr Linden has no earlier convictions.
“I’ve mirrored on the submissions of Mr Moggach and reached the conclusion that the character of the offences is such that the take a look at has been met and that custody is the one applicable disposal.”
Mr Moggach had urged the Sheriff to contemplate alternate options to custody.
He stated that Linden had been identified with autism in 2021 and has not offended since then, and identified that Linden was a youngster himself on the time of a number of the earlier offences.
The lawyer advised the courtroom: “He now appreciates that he overstepped sure boundaries and now is aware of the place these boundaries are. This has been a vastly vital and sobering expertise for him.”
Following the conviction, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney ordered an impartial evaluation of the SNP’s processes within the wake of considerations concerning the dealing with of complaints towards Linden.
Commenting afterwards, Mr Swinney stated he hoped the sentence provides Linden’s victims “some assurance he has has been held to account for the unacceptable behaviour that they skilled”.
The First Minister went on to inform the Press Affiliation: “Now we have already strengthened complaints dealing with inside the SNP, I think about it to be strong. However I need impartial scrutiny to find out whether or not it’s sufficiently strong.”
The SNP’s political opponents have criticised the way in which the get together dealt with the allegations of Linden’s misconduct, with Scottish Labour chief Anas Sarwar accusing them of “double requirements”.
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