Tory candidate asked friends to ‘like’ Bloody Sunday image
A TORY council candidate has been forced to apologise after it emerged he invited people to “like” a picture posted on Facebook of the Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday.
Neill Graham, who is standing for Ruth Davidson’s party in the Paisley North- east and Ralston ward in Renfrewshire, shared the image from the “Proud to be a Protestant banter group ”, according to reports.
His 2014 post contained the phrase: “How many likes for the Paras?”
The 26- year- old retail manager at first tried to defend his behaviour as simply supporting the British Army.
“It was nothing in particular to do with Northern Ireland,” he said.
Bloody Sunday saw soldiers shoot 13 people dead on a civil rights march in Derry in 1972.
The 2010 Saville inquiry concluded the killings were both “unjustified” and “unjustifiable”.
A year earlier, Mr Graham also shared posts from the “Protestant coalition” Facebook group critical of former South African president Nelson Mandela, and joked about attending a conference of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party while on a holiday in Greece.
Mr Graham’s name, former address and current mobile
number and alleged status as “activist” also appear in a British National Party database leaked on the internet in 2008.
He denied ever being a BNP member or supporter and suggested his details were misused after he signed a petition.
An SNP spokesman said: “Quite rightly Neill Graham has been forced to apologise. But the over-arching question remains: are these the kind of attitudes now deemed welcome in Ruth Davidson’s Tory party, which is fast becoming’s Scotland’s Ukip?”
The Scottish Conservatives said Mr Graham remained their candidate but had “apologised for his misjudgements on Facebook and for any offence that he may have caused”.
Meanwhile, the Tories criticised SNP MP Pete Wishart for an “offensive” tweet about political opponents. Mr Wishart listed parties and referred to hypothetical candidates using a series of expletives.
MSP Murdo Fraser said: “At the star t of this week, Nicola Sturgeon pledged her party would treat opponents with respect. At the end of it, one of her MPs is issuing foul-mouthed tweets. She should consider removing the SNP whip from Mr Wishart immediately.”