Unedifying outbursts of a shameless internet troll
PAUL Monaghan was not yet an MP when he told his Twitter followers: ‘Never mind the referendum. Just declare independence.’
There were those who thought the remark so foolish he could not possibly represent the people of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross at Westminster.
That was before the full scale of his online offensiveness was known.
He has referred to the Union Flag as ‘the Butcher’s Apron’ and ‘a rag unfit to wipe the floor of a pigsty’.
In a long, unedifying history of internet trolling, he has described the Queen as a benefits claimant, questioned Prince Harry’s parentage and called him a ‘moron’ and labelled the Duchess of Cambridge ‘Mrs Kate Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, unemployed, of London’.
In 2013 he compared the coalition government David Cameron led to ‘the early days of the Third Reich’.
Former shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran and ex-Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont were likened to comedy drag act Hinge and Bracket. George Osborne was ‘thick as mince’.
Former Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson was ‘a fat old man with objectionable views and an ego that requires he dye his hair’.
Alistair Darling, who led the Better Together campaign, was criticised because he was born in London, despite attending school and university in Scotland and being an Edinburgh MP for 28 years.
In spite of it all, Dr Monaghan – he has a PhD in social policy – prevailed over Lib Dem John Thurso in the SNP’s 2015 General Election rout, with a majority of almost ,000. Not that he has allowed his MP status to temper his appetite for controversy.
In September last year he was accused of anti-Semitism when he took to Twitter to accuse the ‘proud Jewish race’ of ‘persecuting the people of Gaza’.
The 9-year-old was forced to apologise for causing ‘upset’ to the Jewish community and deleted the tweet.
Days later, Nicola Sturgeon slapped him down, warning she would not tolerate offensive tweets from SNP politicians.
She said: ‘Paul made comments some considerable time ago that he has apologised for and said were inappropriate.
‘People have to know if they step out of line on social media by saying things that are unacceptable, I won’t tolerate it.’
It emerged earlier this month Dr Monaghan had tabled 77 early day motions since arriving in the Commons, at a cost to the taxpayer of £20,867. These include congratulating Invergordon Academy on a £600 grant to buy tents and celebrating the success of pupils at Bower Primary in Caithness in building a hotel for insects.