The SNP has been urged to sack a newly appointed complaints officer with a history of trolling a party member on social media.
Ricky Taylor said this weekend that he was “delighted” to be taking up the post at the end of this month, adding: “It’s not going to be the easiest job but I’m definitely up for the challenge of making sure the party is a welcoming and safe place for all.”
However, Alex Neil, a former SNP minister, was among those calling on the party to reverse the decision after it emerged that Taylor had targeted Joanna Cherry, the Edinburgh South West MP, and accused her of “transphobia” and “bullying”. The pro-nationalist commentator Ruth Wishart tweeted: “Reading the social media history of the SNP’s newly appointed complaints officer doesn’t inspire confidence in his likely neutrality.”
Cherry also questioned the decision, tweeting that Taylor “has a history of targeting me and calling me transphobic for my lawful gender critical views. How did he pass vetting?” Cherry pointed to one exchange on social media in which Taylor stated: “I’m a member of the party that’s deeply concerned with the open transphobia that you constantly spout.”
In another, Taylor urged Cherry to stop “creating a toxic environment in the SNP” and accused her of “playing the defamation card” when her views were challenged.
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The row follows the sentencing of an activist who had threatened Cherry with sexual violence in February after she was sacked from the SNP’s front bench at Westminster.
Grant Karte was given a community payment order and banned from contacting Cherry for five years.
An SNP spokesman said: “The party’s new complaints officer will play an important administrative role at headquarters, and we have full confidence in his abilities. Decisions on complaints remain with the national secretary.”