‘I was concerned about my safety’
Scots Tory leader tells of abusive rant by man who compared Tories to Nazis
SCOTTISH Tory leader Douglas Ross was left ‘concerned for his safety’ after a musician visited his constituency office and began hurling insults.
David Levon was found guilty of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Mr Ross’s constituency office in Forres, Moray, in November 2020.
Remarks he made in court comparing Conservatives to Nazis concerned a sheriff so much that she adjourned sentencing to ‘satisfy herself’ he was not a serious threat to public safety.
Elgin Sheriff Court on Friday heard how Levon, 59, was heard saying he wanted to ‘hit them round the head with a baseball bat’ before entering the office two days later with his baby daughter strapped to his chest.
He then proceeded to call Mr Ross a ‘f ****** Tory’ and a ‘disgrace’.
Giving evidence, Mr Ross said as a politician he had ‘built up a thick skin’. But he told the court: ‘This is the only time it’s got to a level where I was concerned for my safety and the safety of the people I work with.’
Levon, of Forres, said it was his opinion that ‘if you work for Douglas Ross you’re tarred with the same brush’. He said: ‘In no way was I trying to upset anyone or alarm anyone.’
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov, however, refused to pass sentence until she has seen background reports after Levon, in the witness box, compared Mr Ross’s constituency office manager Douglas Mackenzie with a guard at a Nazi concentration camp.
Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph, prosecuting, suggested to Levon that he had such a ‘deep-seated dislike for the Tories’ that he wanted ‘any opportunity to have a go’ at anyone involved with the party. She added: ‘You knew he was not a politician.’
Levon argued that was like saying the guards in Nazi Germany were not responsible for what happened to the Jews in the concentration camps.
The prosecutor said: ‘You can’t compare a man [who works in a constituency office] with a guard at Auschwitz. Are you seriously comparing the Tory Party to the Nazis?’
Andrew Ormiston, defending, said his client ‘accepts it was an insensitive and inappropriate comment’.
Mr Mackenzie told the court he had heard Levon telling someone outside the office on November 9, 2020 that ‘they’re horrible people in there. I’d like to hit them round the head with a baseball bat.’
Levon was found guilty of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Sentencing was deferred for reports and bail was continued.