A PRO-INDEPENDENCE blogger has told a court he was "absolutely horrified" to be accused of making homophobic remarks by former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.

Stuart Campbell, who runs the website Wings Over Scotland, is suing Ms Dugdale for £25,000 in a defamation action after she accused him of writing “homophobic tweets”.

Giving evidence on the first day of the hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Mr Campbell said the accusation was "self-evidently ludicrous" and insisted anyone who interpreted his remark in such a way was either dishonest or stupid.

READ MORE: Labour bankroll Kezia Dugdale's defence in Wings Over Scotland defamation case

This included Scottish Secretary David Mundell and Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie, who had both appeared to condemn the tweet, he said.

The row comes after Mr Campbell, 51, wrote on Twitter in March 2017 that Mr Mundell’s son, the Tory MSP Oliver Mundell, was “the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner".

Mr Mundell came out as gay in 2016 and has said it was “one of the most difficult things” he has ever done.

Writing in her Daily Record column a few days later, Ms Dugdale said she was “shocked and appalled to see a pro-independence blogger's homophobic tweets”.

Giving evidence before Sheriff Nigel Ross, Mr Campbell, who lives in Bath, said he was horrified by Ms Dugdale’s column and quickly spoke to his lawyer.

He strenuously denied being homophobic and said he had a record of supporting gay rights.

The blogger said the tweet was a joke aimed at Oliver Mundell's poor public speaking during the 2017 Tory Party conference, the joke being: "I wish by some means or other you had not been fathered by your father."

He added: "It's a staple joke of humanity, I'd suggest, for almost as long as there has been language."

Asked how he felt after reading Ms Dugdale's Daily Record column, he said: "I was very offended — I would say outraged as a fair summary of it. I found it hurtful."

He said these feelings increased as the Labour MSP refused to back down and instead kept up the "malicious and spiteful lie".

READ MORE: Yes digital chief criticises Wings over Scotland and 'cybernats' over indyref

Mr Campbell insisted the accusation had a "very unpleasant" impact on his life and damaged his reputation. He earlier said: "I find the idea of any kind of discrimination against gay people to be absolutely abhorrent and always have done."

However, Colin Macfarlane, the director of LGBT campaigning organisation Stonewall Scotland, told the court he considered Mr Campbell’s tweet to be homophobic.

Appearing as a witness, he said: “It was an unnecessary reference, or drawing attention to David Mundell’s sexual orientation as a way to have a go at Oliver Mundell, but at the same time using David Mundell’s sexual orientation as a punchline.”

It came after fellow pro-independence blogger Paul Kavanagh, who writes under the name “Wee Ginger Dug”, defended Mr Campbell.

Mr Kavanagh, 56, said he came out as gay in the early 1980s, when Scotland was “an intensely homophobic environment”.

He told the court he had been "gay bashed" twice and estranged from his family.

The blogger said that rather than being homophobic, Mr Campbell had actually helped to organise a fundraiser to pay for Mr Kavanagh’s long-term partner to receive dementia care.

He said Mr Campbell's tweet was deliberately crass, tasteless and insulting, but was not homophobic.

Mr Kavanagh said David Mundell was of a similar age to him but had “spent his entire life hiding from homophobia” and came out as gay in 2016 when it was relatively “safe” to do so.

He earlier insisted unionist politicians viewed Wings Over Scotland as “Satan” and demonised Mr Campbell.

Roddy Dunlop QC, acting for Ms Dugdale, previously put it to Mr Campbell that his tweet had caused offence because it was "targeting a gay man in order to deride his son".

But Mr Campbell insisted: "The subject of the joke is Oliver Mundell and his speaking abilities, not David Mundell."

READ MORE: Labour bankroll Kezia Dugdale's defence in Wings Over Scotland defamation case

He said anyone with an "acceptable level of English comprehension" would not interpret the tweet as homophobic.

Mr Dunlop also asked the blogger about a comment he made under a video game review in 2009, in which he said a difficulty level was for "girls and homosexuals".

Mr Campbell said it was an "ironic and sarcastic reference to the prevailing culture of video-gaming in general".

Ms Dugdale is due to give evidence tomorrow. The court heard David Mundell will not appear due to the ongoing Brexit crisis.