Shamed Bill Walker to appeal against convictions

Lawyers acting for the former SNP MSP will appear at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in April to argue their case.

The ex-politician was jailed for 12 months in September after being convicted at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of 23 charges of assault and breach of the peace.

He was branded a “caveman” by Sheriff Kathrine Mackie after she heard how Walker spent three decades terrorising his former partners.

She told Walker, who once represented Dunfermline in the Scottish Parliament, that he was “controlling, domineering, demeaning and belittling” towards his ex-lovers.

Walker became the SNP MSP for Dunfermline in 2011 and was expelled by the party in April 2012 after the allegations of abuse were exposed.

The SNP faced criticism over Walker’s selection as a candidate for Holyrood after he was convicted.

Labour had demanded an explanation from Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, because a member of her staff had been presented with claims about Walker’s violent character in 2008 by Rob Armstrong, brother-in-law of the politician’s third wife.

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie previsouly urged the SNP to commission an independent inquiry into Walker’s selection as a candidate.