A MAN has pleaded guilty to sending aggressive messages to SNP MP Joanna Cherry which she feared were threats of sexual violence.

Appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday March 12, Grant Karte pleaded guilty to offences under section 127 of the 2003 Communications Act.

The court heard that Cherry had received a series of messages from a Twitter account named “Grant” on the day she was sacked from the SNP’s frontbench at Westminster.

Fiscal depute Callum Thomson told the court the messages warned the MP that she had “24 hours or I will f*** you like you f****d Scotland”.

The messages included an email and telephone number and told Cherry to “tell me something”, warning: “You don’t know me or what I’m capable of.”

Defence agent Simon Collins said Karte had been having “difficulties with his own life” at the time and was “apologetic and embarrassed”.

The sheriff said that Cherry had "inferred" threats of sexual harm from the messages, though Karte had said it was not his intent.

Commenting, Cherry said: “A man appeared in court today and pled guilty to an offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, by sending me messages that were grossly offensive and of an indecent, obscene, and menacing character.

“The offence happened on February 1, 2021. The man’s name is Grant Karte. Sentence has been deferred until April 16. I would like to thank the police for their assistance.

“Some of the threats which Mr Karte made to me were of a sexual nature. A recent survey of parliamentarians showed that while politicians of both sexes receive abuse and threats, it is largely female politicians who receive threats of sexual violence. I believe that this is a problem which requires to be acknowledged.

“At the time of the offence Karte was a member of a branch of the SNP where there have been a significant number of complaints about abuse of women by younger men. Had these complaints of abuse, and the targeting of me and other women on social media been addressed, it is likely that this behaviour would not have escalated to the scale of threats of sexual violence.

“Finally, I believe that the untrue allegations of transphobia made against me, some of which were repeated by senior politicians who ought to know better, put a target on my back.

“Therefore, I hope that everyone involved learns from this episode. Women must be allowed to discuss women’s rights, and to acknowledge that sex matters, without being labelled bigots or abused and threatened. Sex is a biological reality which we cannot ignore and if we do ignore it, we distort reality in a way that can only make women more vulnerable.”