A £25,000 legal battle between a pro-independence blogger and former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale will be heard at the end of next month.
Ms Dugdale is being sued for £25,000 in a defamation action brought by Stuart Campbell, who runs the website Wings Over Scotland, after she accused him of writing “homophobic tweets”.
Officials at Edinburgh Sheriff Court confirmed the case will be heard on March 25 and is expected to run for three days.
The timing means Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who has been cited as a witness, could spend the days leading up to Brexit giving evidence in court.
The row comes after Mr Campbell wrote on Twitter that Mr Mundell’s son, the Tory MSP Oliver Mundell, was “the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner".
Mr Mundell came out as gay in 2016 and has said it was “one of the most difficult things” he has ever done.
Writing in her Daily Record column, Ms Dugdale said she was “shocked and appalled to see a pro-independence blogger's homophobic tweets”.
Mr Campbell’s legal team argue her article was defamatory and implied he is homophobic.
The legal battle previously sparked Labour infighting after the party pulled its funding for Ms Dugdale's defence.
Some MSPs viewed the move as a “betrayal”.
Last year, Sheriff Kenneth McGowan refused Ms Dugdale’s request to have the action thrown out and agreed to proceed to an evidential hearing.
Ms Dugdale later dropped an appeal against this decision.
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