A Tayside councillor has accused a town chamber colleague of supporting an online threat that stated he “should be hung”.
Independent Carnoustie councillor Brian Boyd’s conduct was described as “simply unacceptable” by Forfar Conservative member Braden Davy following a social media spat.
Mr Davy was targeted after posting comments on his Facebook page which gave his backing for the sale of council buildings that were at the centre of a Forfar ‘superpub’ debacle.
In comments regarding the sale of The Cross, one member of the public stated: “Your (sic) a complete buffoon Davy. The building can be utilised by other council departments no problem. You should be hung for the damage your (sic) doing to this place”.
Mr Boyd liked the comment which Mr Davy said was “simply unacceptable” and “well below the standard we should expect of councillors”.
Mr Davy said: “He may think this is ‘just a like’ but on a public forum, for all to see, he is showing his support for online intimidation and threats to ‘hang’ people.
“You would not say this to someone in real life, and if you did you would be reprimanded for it.
“After being a councillor for over seven years he should know better. I have often received abuse online, however never with someone in a position of authority publicly endorsing it.
“In this political environment we should be creating an atmosphere where people feel comfortable engaging in local politics, exactly the opposite of what Cllr Boyd has done.
“Encouraging folk to attack, intimidate and hurl abuse in whatever form should always be unacceptable.
“His support for vile comments shows a huge lack of judgement and character. He should be ashamed of his actions and this behaviour should be investigated by the standards commission.
“I will be asking Cllr Boyd for a full apology and to rescind his support of these comments.”
Mr Boyd said it was a “storm in a teacup” and accused Mr Davy of playing “jiggery-pokery”.
He said: “Being extremely busy I didn’t even notice the word ‘hung’ but, of course, that is totally unacceptable.
“The word ‘hung’ is near the end of the comment and I didn’t get past the word buffoon before I liked the post.
“I was more focused on the hypocrisy of the Tories and fake Independents who are all doing a complete u-turn the subject of the sale of the Cross.
“The Cross is a very contentious issue and Mr Davy should have known better than to speak publicly about an issue on green papers.
“One of his fellow Forfar councillors was struck off for meddling with green papers in the past and it’s infuriating that both of them are now in a position of power – Angus deserves better than this.”
A deal to sell The Cross to Voluntary Action Angus was discussed in private at a council meeting in Forfar on Tuesday.
