Who is SNP's Jordan Linden and what is he convicted of?

Over the space of a few years, he ascended from being an SNP group assistant business manager to council leader in North Lanarkshire.

In 2016, though, he was forced to resign as SYP chair when a sexually explicit image of him began circulating between members.

It is understood an investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.

A year later, in 2017, Linden was elected as an SNP councillor for North Lanarkshire’s Bellshill ward and he was selected as leader of the council in May 2022.

His leadership of the council lasted just two months though after allegations of sexual harassment emerged. He resigned his SNP membership in 2024.

What is he convicted of?

Linden went on trial over seven days at Falkirk Sheriff Court in March where he faced a string of charges.

In the end, the jury found him guilty of a total of 10 – five sexual assaults, three counts of engaging in a course of conduct that caused fear and alarm, as well as sexual communications convictions.

Jordan Linden and Nicola Sturgeon. (Image: Supplied)

Police Scotland said all of the victims were either boys or young men, with the youngest aged just 14.

Detective Chief Inspector Diane Barr said the victims viewed Linden as “being in a position of trust”.

“He abused this position to befriend young males who were seeking his support and the opportunity to learn from his work, however his conduct towards them was far from professional,” she added.

All of the offending took place over the period of a decade – between 2011 and 2021.

After less than four hours of deliberations, the jury ruled unanimously that Linden was guilty in four out of five of the sexual assault cases. But the court also unanimously ruled he was not guilty of a sixth sexual assault charge.

He was acquitted of five other charges of stalking and sexual communication.

Linden denied all of the charges, stating they either did not take place or were consensual.

Falkirk Sheriff Court. (Image: Jane Barlow)

He said: “If they tell me no, it means no,” adding that he felt “gutted, betrayed, burned and done over” at being accused.

The court heard the victims had been touched inappropriately and sent the partially naked and sometimes explicit selfies by Linden. Others spoke of him getting into beds or bunks with them, or trying to pull at their belts and waistbands.

One man, who was 15 at the time, said Linden’s touching on the face or cheek was “relentless” but a youth worker at the SYP dismissed it as “just Jordan”.

He told the court that Linden called him in the middle of the night “panting”, sent him photographs of his genitals, touched his bottom and tried to pull his trousers down.

Another, aged 14, said Linden cornered him in a hotel room as he was getting ready for a social event, poking and prodding him, and sent him suggestive and flirtatious messages.

Another recalled a “traumatic” event in 2018, where he woke up to find Linden performing a sex act on him. Other incidents occurred at a Dundee Pride event in 2019.

How did the SNP respond?

Following the conviction, the SNP said it would undertake a fresh, independent review of its complaints procedures after victims said their concerns were dismissed.

Current SNP leader John Swinney has apologised to victims but said he did not know about the allegations until the media reported on it in 2022.

But the party faces calls to properly investigate who knew what, and when. A former member of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s board said Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, had been informed of Linden’s actions a decade ago.

And North Lanarkshire councillors who quit the SNP after raising the alarm about Linden, said they wrote a letter to First Minister John Swinney – and his predecessor Humza Yousaf – in September 2025, outlining concerns about the complaints process. But they say a response was never received.

It is said that other prominent politicians were made aware – Stephanie Callaghan, Claire Adamson, Stephen Bonnar, Neil Gray, Fulton MacGregor and Jamie Hepburn were made aware.

The SNP also dropped Tracy Carragher, the former SNP group leader in North Lanarkshire, after she defended Linden during a council meeting in 2022. She had been a candidate on the Central Scotland regional list.

During that 2022 meeting, Cllr Carragher said: “The other party involved in this didn’t complain to the police, didn’t complain to the press... That tells its own story here.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our complaints procedures since 2016, but in light of this case the Party Leader, John Swinney has instructed that an independent review of these procedures be conducted. This will ensure people are protected and our complaints procedures are as robust as they can be.

"More generally, the SNP welcomes the verdict against Mr Linden and commends the bravery of the individuals who came forward and shared their experiences with the police."