Jordan Linden was 'enabled to act inappropriately by his SNP colleagues'

A man who was sexually assaulted by the former leader of North Lanarkshire Council has told STV News that his SNP colleagues ‘enabled’ his behaviour.

Speaking anonymously, the man said there were serious questions to answer about Jordan Linden’s actions.

He was found guilty on Thursday of a string of charges against young men and boys, including five sexual assaults.

Linden, who’s now 30, was convicted after a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court. The offences happened while he was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament and later while serving as an SNP councillor.

“This could have been stopped earlier,” one of his victims told STV News.

“He waited until he was on his own with me, singled me out.

“I was sleeping when I felt his hand stroking my thigh, I froze, I felt sick and didn’t know what to do, he was much bigger than me, and had a lot of power.

“We weren’t believed, we were called liars, we were pushed out of politics, while he was able to behave like that and just carry on. He was enabled, and I hope in time, we find out why.”

“There are serious questions for the youth work services in North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Youth Parliament and his SNP council colleagues.”

Linden was also convicted by a jury of causing fear and alarm and of directing unwanted sexual communications towards seven teenagers aged from 14, including pictures of himself in a bubble bath and more explicit shots of his genitalia.

The offences spanned ten years from 2011 to 2021 during Linden’s time at North Lanarkshire, the youth parliament and the SNP’s youth wing, Young Scots for Independence.

Linden looked shocked and appeared to choke back tears in the dock as the verdicts were announced. Four of the five sexual assault verdicts were unanimous.

He was found not guilty, unanimously, of a sixth charge of sexual assault and was also acquitted, unanimously, of five other charges of stalking and sexual communication.

Sheriff Christopher Shead deferred sentence to May 5 for reports and continued bail.

He told him: “The court will have to consider the full range of disposals.”

Linden, of Bellshill, had denied all the charges – saying they either did not take place, or were consensual.

He insisted: “If they tell me no, it means no.”

He said he felt “gutted, betrayed, burned and done over” at being accused.

After a seven day trial, the jury at Falkirk Sheriff Court debated for less than four hours to reach the verdicts.

One man, who joined the SYP at the same time as Linden when they were both 15, said Linden’s touching, on the face or the cheek or the neck, was “relentless” but when he told a youth worker at the parliament it was dismissed as “just Jordan”.

He said what he termed “the Just Jordan behaviour” became more prevalent as time went on, and made him feel vulnerable and “sick to the stomach”. He eventually removed himself from the Youth Parliament to “take himself out of the equation.”

Another witness, 15 when he was a member of the youth parliament, said he’d received pictures from Linden showing a “bulge” in his boxers.

The man told the jury that when Linden stepped down as chairman of the youth parliament in 2016, he had left in tears because of the way it was announced.

He said a parliament board member had made a speech at the parliamentary session, in Stornoway, suggesting Linden had stepped down for “unfair reasons”.

He said when Linden was “thanked profusely”, he began to fear a “governmental cover-up”.

Other witnesses also said their complaints about him were downplayed or ignored by adults in the organisation.

Several said they had been reluctant to complain about Linden because of his power and sway in the youth parliament and the SNP.

The court heard Linden joined the Scottish Youth Parliament in 2011 – when he was still 15 – to make friends and “stand up for people similar to myself who were openly gay”.

He became chairman in 2015 and stepped down the following year after explicit images of himself began to circulate amongst its 150 members, aged 14 up, resulting in the Youth Parliament commissioning an investigation by a private law firm in line with policy at the time.

Linden denied circulating these images.

In the witness box, he described himself as a hugger and said he would often greet people with a kiss on the cheek, but insisted he’d “never had an adverse reaction” to this.

He did admit sending photographs to other MSYPs of himself having a bubble bath but said they were “generic and not inappropriate”.

He denied that any of his conduct was criminal, saying he was just “young…naive and silly.”

Linden became an SNP councillor for the Bellshill ward during the 2017 local elections. He was elected leader of North Lanarkshire Council in May 2022 but resigned from the post a few weeks later when allegations emerged.

An SNP spokesperson said: “We hope today’s verdict brings some justice to those who have bravely come forward and shared their experiences – their courage in speaking out cannot be overstated. As proceedings remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Youth Parliament said: “An independent review of our safeguarding arrangements, commissioned in the wake of the allegations, found that our child protection policies fully complied with national guidelines and legislation.

“Safeguarding, well-being and child protection are of paramount importance to SYP. We continually strengthen our guidelines and procedures in line with evolving national policies and best practice, which includes updating policies, training and support every two years.”

A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said, “Our thoughts are with the victims of abuse in this case. All aspects of the council’s youth work service have safeguarding policies and protocols in place to protect individuals.

“However, should specific concerns be directly raised with us, we would of course examine the circumstances.”