SHOCKING DOWNFALL OF MAN WHO COULD HAVE LED THE SNP
Shamed ex-finance minister accused of ‘desperate’ bid for contact – by a married man
He seemed only interested in one thing
SHAUN CAMERON ON SHAMED DEREK MACKAY
BY ALAN McEWEN A MARRIED SNP activist last night told how disgraced Derek Mackay bombarded him with messages for almost four years, including one asking: “Got any naughty pics?” Shaun Cameron, 25, received dozens of unwanted Facebook messages from the former Scottish finance secretary despite meeting him just once. The shamed MSP, who Shaun branded “creepy”, even suggested they got together at his Edinburgh home. After Mackay resigned from his senior government role over “predatory” behaviour with a 16-year-old schoolboy, Shaun told the Record how the politician: ● Made a beeline for him at an SNP fundraiser.
● Found out his name then tracked him down on Facebook.
● Bombarded him with messages, including some which were sexually suggestive.
● Put pressure on Shaun to keep the conversations private.
Aspiring politician Shaun also told how he felt unable to tell Mackay to leave him alone because of his high profile in the SNP.
On one occasion, the MSP wrote: “Would you like to come stay with me sometime?”
The last message he sent was on Sunday. He told Shaun he was “finishing the budget papers” but was free to see him in the city.
Shaun said Mackay, 42, asked him if was gay. Despite Shaun telling him he was straight and in a long-term relationship, the politician continued to insist they meet.
After Shaun got married last May, Mackay told him he looked “loved up” but continued to contact him.
Shaun said he felt “pressurised” to respond to Mackay due to his standing in the party – otherwise he would have told him to “f-off ”.
He called him a “predator” who didn’t “take the hint” despite repeated demurrals.
Mackay resigned as finance secretary yesterday – hours before he was due to deliver the budget – after it emerged he sent messages to a 16-year-old boy.
In the online messages, Mackay invited the teen to dinner and a rugby event as well as calling him “cute”. He contacted the boy over a six-month period on Instagram and Facebook. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed Mackay has been suspended from the SNP amid the fallout from the scandal.
Shaun said he met Mackay at a SNP fundraising dinner at the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries in March 2016.
He said: “It was a fundraiser to help get (South Scotland SNP MSP) Joan McAlpine re-elected. There were 100 to 150 people there. Alex Salmond delivered a speech and Joan was there along with Derek Mackay, who also gave a speech.
“I was 21. I would say Derek Mackay made a beeline for me.
“I was with my then partner and introduced her so he knew what the situation was. He was asking general things, such as, ‘What brings you here tonight?’
“I thought it was a bit strange he’d walked past two or three tables to come and talk to me.”
Mackay then tracked Shaun down on social media. Shaun has 1400 Facebook friends and counts several SNP MSPs among them.
He said: “About a week after the event, I got a friend request from him on Facebook. It was strange because I don’t know how he found out my name.
“I wondered why he wanted to be Facebook friends but didn’t think too much about it and accepted. The Facebook Messenger messages started almost immediately. He asked if I was gay and if I knew what his political position was. He knew fine well I was straight. I made that clear.
“To begin with, it was general chit-chat. Then he invited me to stay over in Edinburgh. The address was near the Scottish Parliament. I was polite but never agreed. I knew what he was after. It was quite obvious.
“He would ask if the conversation was strictly between us. He was quite pushy. I’m obviously a happily married man. He was being quite sexual, quite suggestive. You would think the messages would stop after being ignored two or three times but I have pages and pages of him messaging me and getting no response. It’s quite creepy.”
Shaun said he mostly ignored the messages, which were often sent at night.
In January 2017, Mackay messaged: “Are these conversations just between us?” Shaun assured him: “Yeah, of course.” Mackay replies: “Good, would you like to come stay with me sometime?” He added: “I could treat you to some drinks.” After receiving no reply, Mackay said: “Maybe not.”
In September that year, Mackay sent a message asking: “Got any naughty pics?”
Months later, after receiving no replies
from Shaun, the MSP asked: “You not talking to me?”
Shaun told the Record: “It was never public Facebook messages, always private. Sometimes he would send ‘hey’ or a wave emoji. It was like he wanted to start a conversation.
“I told my wife about it. She was angry but I kind of turned a blind eye. I’m an SNP supporter so it was difficult for me to admit this was bad.
“I got married last year and kind of ignored him altogether. It had got tiresome and he disappeared for a while. Then he sent messages at the end of last year saying I looked ‘all loved up’ because he would have seen wedding photos on my timeline.”
Shaun, who works for a pension firm, is a part-time DJ in nightclubs. He’s been an activist in the SNP for six years.
He said: “I responded to the minority of his messages. I’d maybe get 10 for every one
I replied to. I never led him on.
“I didn’t respond because I wanted to get rid of him – but he didn’t take the hint.
“I was being polite because I was afraid it would damage my stance within the party.
“I did feel pressurised because I didn’t want to lose my position. It’s 100 per cent that there was a power dynamic.”
Shaun said he felt “locked into” the messaging despite not wanting to respond.
He added: “I often felt, ‘I’d better say hello back.’ If he wasn’t a senior politician, I would have blocked him on Facebook.
“If I asked something about politics, he didn’t seem interested. He never showed an interest in me as a person. He seemed only interested in one thing.”
Shaun, who was born and brought up in
Dumfries, was shocked by the revelations about Mackay’s messages to the teenager.
He said: “It’s disgusting. I can relate to the way the boy felt. I’m older and was able to deal with it but for a teenager, it would have been frightening. He was abusing his position of power. I’d call him a predator. He’s a desperate person.”
The Record tried to contact Mackay at his home in Renfrewshire yesterday but there was no response.