Mundell accuses ‘Wings’ blogger of homophobia
SCOTTISH Secretary David Mundell has accused a controversial pro-independence blogger of making homophobic remarks about him on social media. Mundell became the first openly gay Tory cabinet secretary when he came out in January 2015.
However, after his son Oliver, the Tory MSP for Dumfriesshire, addressed the Scottish Conservative conference, the Wings Over Scotland website tweeted: “Oliver Mundell is the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner.”
The bitter row broke out ahead of his father’s speech to the conference in Glasgow yesterday. In his speech to delegates hours after the posting, the Scottish Secretary went out of his way to praise his son who was elected to Holyrood in May last year. Mundell, who is Scotland’s only Tory MP, previously served as a South of Scotland MSP from 1999 to 2005.
Speaking at the conference, he said: “Oliver, I was immensely proud to see you win last May and take your seat of Dumfriesshire – something I never managed to do. I remember so well taking my own seat in Parliament 18 years ago, when you were all of nine years old and you were there with us on the opening day of Parliament, on July 1, 1999 – and it fills me with pride to watch you now speak so eloquently and effectively on the floor of the Scottish Parliament. And you’ve won us both the niche accolade of being Scotland’s first ever father-and-son pair to be elected to Holyrood – and the bonus to me is that some people don’t know which way round it is.”
In a statement after the speech, Mundell attacked the posting from Wings Over Scotland, which is run by the Bath-based blogger Stuart Campbell. He said: “This sort of behaviour has to be called out. We’re not going to face down homophobia unless we call out people who practice it.”
The MP also reacted on Twitter, saying: “@NicolaSturgeon asks ‘What kind of country do we want to live in?’ My answer: not one where homophobia is acceptable.”
His son, speaking about the tweet, said: “They were absolutely disgusting and unacceptable. I get a lot of abuse online.”
However, the blogger insisted that the tweet was “Toryphobic” rather than homophobic.
An SNP spokesperson, reacting to the row, said: “There is no place in our society for inappropriate behaviour, offensive language or abuse of any kind. We abhor homophobia and always condemn it and any comments which can be construed as such.”
Meanwhile, Mundell used his speech to say there are a whole range of areas where “Scotland’s two governments want the same outcomes as we leave the EU”.