A Tory councillor who was removed from the teaching register after branding Nicola Sturgeon a “drooling hag” has been selected as one of the party's candidates for the Holyrood election in May.
Kathleen Leslie, who also described the lottery-winning Weir family as “uneducated fat f******”, will stand for Douglas Ross's party in the Kirkcaldy constituency.
A spokeswoman for the SNP told the Record: "There's no doubt that Kathleen Leslie's online outburst was offensive and ignorant - she is clearly an unsuitable candidate to be an MSP.
"By selecting Ms Leslie as a candidate and disregarding her completely unacceptable comments - and the fact she was struck off as a teacher for making them - the Tories have shown their true colours once again."
Leslie, at that point a registered teacher, unleashed a series of insulting posts on social media ahead of the independence referendum in 2014.
She wrote of Sturgeon: “Wee jimmy krankie is a drooling hag. She’s a walking horror show.”
Leslie, who taught at Woodmill High in Dunfermline, also wrote: “That wee fish wife was there?! At taxpayer expense no doubt.
“Feel sorry for poor bugger sat next to her grim face.”
A complaint was made about offensive tweets to the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) watchdog.
Leslie admitted her fitness to teach was impaired, and she waived her right to a full hearing because she no longer wished to continue teaching after her election. She quit as a teacher after getting elected to Fife Council.
The GTCS also barred her from applying to return to teaching for two years.
At the time, she said: “I chose not to exercise my right to take the issue to a hearing, as I no longer wished to continue teaching, having decided to fully commit myself to representing my ward, ensuring that the interests of my constituents were being served and their voices heard.
“During my years of teaching I was never under any scrutiny as regards my professionalism and performance in the classroom.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: "Kathleen has already apologised and she will continue to be a strong candidate focussed on stopping an SNP majority, stopping their push for another divisive referendum, and making rebuilding Scotland the top priority of the next Scottish Parliament."
