AN SNP councillor at the centre of a transgender Twitter row with a senior party figure will face a standards hearing over allegations of offensive and insulting tweets.
Gregor Murray, who represents a ward in Dundee, will be hauled before the Standards Commission for Scotland on May 15 to determine whether the Councillors’ Code of Conduct was broken.
It comes amid allegations the councillor used “terms that were insulting and offensive” during twitter exchanges with a member of the public last year.
Gregor Murray is Scotland’s only transgender councillor and is non-binary, identifying as neither male nor female.
The councillor is also the subject of a separate internal party complaint from SNP MSP Joan McAlpine following abuse she says she received on Twitter.
Ms McAlpine said: “Cllr Murray began his abuse when the committee I convene concluded that the sex question on the census should remain male/female, a position supported by the Office of National Statistics.
“Cllr Murray has a record of harassing women online and this has resulted in a complaint to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life from another women’s group.
“Fortunately the councillor’s negative comments are vastly outweighed by the support I have received from thousands of women, in all political parties, who are grateful that I am raising issues of concern to them.
“’Sex self ID’ means that any man who says he is a woman, even one who has made no changes to his body, can demand access to women’s single sex facilities and services – for example changing rooms, shared accommodation and the provision of intimate personal care.”
Cllr Murray has previously caused controversy over foul-mouthed tweets, including branding trans-exclusionary radical feminists “utter c****”.
Next month’s hearing could see the councillor face a range of sanctions, including partial or full suspension or disqualification for up to five years.
Cllr Murray could not be reached for comment.
An SNP spokesman said: “It would be inappropriate to comment before the conclusion of the hearing.”
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