Warrant for tweet man after no-show

AN arrest warrant has been issued for a former farmer who failed to appear at court for sentencing after posting an inflammatory tweet suggesting Scotland’s Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf sympathised with terrorists.

Stuart Smith, 63, was convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court in November last year of sending the message which read: “Humza Yousaf, good Scots name. I am sure he is 90 per cent backing Muslim killers.

“Be having a whip round for terrorist families soon.”

The offending tweet was sent on November 14, 2015, the day after the Paris terror attacks, and appeared in the feed of Mr Yousaf.

Sheriff Sean Murphy QC issued the warrant after Smith, from Gretna, failed to appear yesterday for sentencing.

Last year, Sheriff Murphy found Smith guilty of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm by posting an abusive comment to Twitter that contained grossly offensive and derogatory remarks regarding a religion.