Council chief accused of being ‘apologist’ in Labour racism row
A senior Labour politician has come under fire for suggesting that a councillor embroiled in a racism row could have been the victim of mistaken identity.
Elaine Murray, a former MSP and the current Dumfries and Galloway council leader, has been criticised by Transport Minister Humza Yousaf for making the suggestion.
Ms Murray intervened following allegations that her colleague Councillor Jim Dempster had racially abused a brother and sister when they went into his newsagent shop as children about 30 years ago.
When the allegations were made this week, Mr Dempster had already been suspended by Labour for making a racially offensive remark about Mr Yousaf. He said that no-one would have seen Mr Yousaf “under the burka” on a visit he made to Dumfries and Galloway. He has acknowledged and apologised for making the remark. The councillor has denied the latest accusations which date from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The unnamed individuals, who made the accusations against Mr Dempster, claimed he chased the sister, then only aged six, around his shop with an air freshener claiming she “smelled like curry”.
Yesterday Ms Murray sent some journalists an email titled: “Jim Dempster – a case of mistaken identity?”
Her email referred to a message she had received from a local business person, whose friends believed the accusers may have confused Mr Dempster with another local shopkeeper. Ms Murray said: “The victims of the racist bullying are not to be blamed if this is mistaken identity, as they would have been traumatised by their experiences. The person who went to the press with their statements and the journalists who carried it without investigation are. I shall be conducting my own inquiries over the weekend.”
But Mr Yousaf, who has been in touch with those making the allegations against Mr Dempster was angered.
On twitter, the Transport Minister said Ms Murray should stop being an “apologist” for Mr Dempster’s “inexcusable behaviour” and questioned why she had got involved. He added: “I have spoken again to victims and they absolutely reassure me it is Jim Dempster who racially abused them, not mistaken identity. How dare a Council Leader try to cast doubt about the victims of racism.”
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