A former SNP councillor has been convicted of sex attacks against three women. 

Lewis Ritchie had denied the charges but was found guilty at Edinburgh sheriff court following a two day trial.

The court heard that the former Edinburgh Council planning chief forced his tongue into one woman's mouth, tried to crawl into bed with another, and bruised another after slapping her buttocks.

The first victim - who gave her evidence from behind a screen - said the two had been at an SNP function at the party’s clubrooms at the capital’s South St Andrews Street in April 2016.

She and Ritchie shared a taxi home. She said he was “extremely drunk” and was “slurring his words” and asked for a kiss when he left the car.

The woman said she was “surprised” and gave him “a kiss on the cheek”.

Ritchie then told her "No, I want a proper kiss" and forced his tongue into her mouth.

The woman said it was “a deeply unpleasant incident."

Another woman who was employed by the politician at his All Good Cafe in Leith said he would regularly squeeze past her and make sexual comments to her. 

He slapped her on the buttocks on two occasions.

She told the court the second assault left her with a bruised buttock and when she confronted him about it he had “laughed in my face” and said he thought I would “find it funny”.

The woman, who is her 20s, added she “felt sexualised” by the encounters and had resigned from her position at the end of October 2019, just weeks after taking on the job. 

The final victim said she had been at the SNP conference in Glasgow in October 2017 when Ritchie asked to spend the night at the flat where she and colleagues were staying.

She told the trial she went to bed around midnight but was woken at about 2am with a drunken, half-naked Ritchie entering the room and attempting to get into bed with her.

She said Ritchie was wearing just his boxer shorts and as he tried to lift the duvet he said “It’s OK we’ll just have a cuddle”.

The woman said she felt “quite vulnerable” as she was only wearing a t-shirt and had pushed him away and told him “no” before he left the bedroom.

Sheriff Fiona Tait placed Ritchie on the sex offenders register and deferred sentence to later this year for social work reports to be prepared.

He quit the SNP in 2018, but remained as a councillor for Leith Walk until the last election.