Scots Tory councillor suspended over Nicola Sturgeon IS tweet

A SCOTTISH Tory councillor has been suspended by the party following comments he made on Twitter about Islamic State ‘moles’ moving in with Nicola Sturgeon.

Scots Tory councillor Gordon McCaskill, who has been suspended from the party pending a probe. Picture: Contributed

Gordon McCaskill, a councillor in East Renfrewshire, made the remark after the First Minister had said in a TV interview that she would be ‘absolutely happy’ to house a Syrian refugee.

Mr McCaskill, a retired police officer, posted: “Scenes we’d like to see: the refugees Nicola invites into her house are Daesh [Islamic State] moles.”

The tweet has since been deleted, and the Scottish Conservatives have suspended Mr McCaskill and launched an investigation into the tweet.

The tweet, which has since been deleted

A spokesperson for the party said: “Mr McCaskill has been suspended with immediate effect subject to an investigation.

Mr McCaskill is no stranger to controversy, having been criticised for ‘sexist’ comments about women in trade unions earlier this year.

During a public hustings, the councillor said in response to a question about trade union laws: “My own view is that the trade unions nowadays have got a significant problem because they have a large number of female employees who are unionists and they are not keen on going on strike.”

Several members of the audience shouted ‘sexist’ and began jeering and booing the Glasgow South West candidate.

Mr McCaskill has also previously stood for election in Paisley and Renfrewshire South, also as a Conservative Party candidate.