A candidate for George Galloway’s new party has been linked to a Twitter page spouting sectarian, racist and sexist abuse.
Alliance 4 Unity’s Holyrood hopeful David Griffiths has denied being behind the account and initially refused to identify who was.
Vile content on @Windsor Hugo – which has now been deleted – refers to Catholics as “tarriers” and “taigs”, while using the term FTP (**** The Pope) and another offensive swear word on numerous occasions.
The social media site has also been used to attack Muslims and women.
Griffiths, who is set to stand for the new unionist party at next year’s Scottish Parliament elections, insisted he was the victim of hackers and bogus accounts. But the 59-year-old then admitted he knew who had set up the page.
One post states: “This charmer will remain blocked for acting like a snide c**t, like a tarrier, in fact.”
Another tweet referred to ex-Celtic players Paolo Di Canio and Jackie McNamara, saying: “What a c**t Di Canio was and what a hate-filled piece of wannabe taig trash McNamara is.”
The account also made crude sexual remarks about First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell.
In 2016, one message read: “It doesn’t take an Islamophobe to predict young Muslim males mistreating women.”
Another post references violence towards women, stating that people who “wind up Bears” then “squeal like little bi****s when they get a slap”.
In response to a picture of a man decribed as a “lobotomised mutant”, @WindsorHugo makes a sickening comment about Celtic captain Scott Brown’s sister Fiona, who died of cancer in 2008.
Other posts refer to child sex abuse victims in terms too explicit to publish.
When asked about the tweets, posted between 2016 and 2018, Griffiths, who resigned as a director of fans’ group Follow Rangers Shareholders Ltd last month, denied he controlled the page.
He said: “This deleted Twitter account was not my account. Operation of the account took place without my authority or knowledge.
“Since I became active in the Rangers FC fan group community, several of my social media accounts have been hacked and fake accounts have been set up in my name; one of which still exists today after more than two years.”
When asked to clarify whether he was saying the account was set up by trolls, Griffiths said: “That is a gross misrepresentation of what I said. I have never said who set up the account and I will not do so.”
In May 2019, @WindsorHugo tweeted they were the sole director of the Follow Rangers fan group company.
It stated: “Originally we planned to be an association with no directors. But following legal advice, we set up as a limited company which meant we needed one director. I volunteered.”
Companies House records show that at that time Griffiths was the sole director of Follow Rangers. Three new directors were appointed in July after he quit.
Last week, we revealed how another candidate for Galloway’s new party made racist remarks online. Jean Mathieson, 53, posted a string of hate-filled comments on social media and voiced support for far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Alliance 4 Unity said Griffiths had been a victim of hackers and fake accounts, adding: “Mr Griffiths is a Rangers man. Mr Galloway is a Celtic man. We are left/right/centre people who have come together to fight the disastrous SNP. We are all sorts.”
