Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has won a legal action by a pro-independence blogger who accused her of defamation.
Wings Over Scotland activist Stuart Campbell took the MSP to court in Edinburgh last month over her newspaper claim he sent “homophonic tweets”.
But today Sheriff Nigel Ross ruled that although Dugdale’s accusation wasn’t correct her Daily Record column contained “the necessary elements for a defence of fair comment”.
Campbell strenuously denied being a homophobe and insisted such an allegation is both “untrue” and “unfair”.
He went to court to protect his reputation as someone who consistently supported the equal treatment of homosexual people, and also sought £25,000 damages.
Kezia Dugdale hails 'important' victory as she wins 'homophobic' defamation case
Campbell sued Dugdale, 37, for defamation over a column she wrote in the Daily Record on March 7, 2017, referencing his “homophobic tweets”.
The tweet at the heart of the action, made during the Conservative Party conference on March 3 that year, stated: “Oliver Mundell is the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner.”
Sheriff Ross said: “Mr Campbell intended the tweet to be insulting about Oliver Mundell’s speaking abilities, and the reference to his father’s homosexuality was intended as a basis for a jibe directed at the son.
“The jibe was to the effect that a homsexual man would not father children and therefore his son would never have been born and have become a public speaker.”
Kezia Dugdale tells court Wings Over Scotland IndyRef blogger's tweet was 'homophobic'
Campbell, 51, from Bath, Somerset, denied it was a homophobic reference to Scottish Secretary David Mundell being gay.
His QC Craig Sandison described it as “satirical criticism” of Scottish Conservative MSP Oliver Mundell’s public speaking skills.
Dugdale’s comment, he said, was “not fairly made” and claimed it was motivated in part by her “ill feeling” towards the blogger.
Roddy Dunlop QC, for Dugdale, described the Aberdeen-born Lothian MSP as “entirely credible and reliable”.
The true question was whether someone was entitled to view the tweet as homophobic, he said.
In his written judgment Sheriff Ross said: “Despite incorrectly implying that Mr Campbell is homophobic, her article is protected under the principle of fair comment.
“She is not liable to pay damages to Mr Campbell.”
