Scottish blogger suing Kezia Dugdale denies tweet was ‘homophobic’
DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND – APRIL 24: Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale gives a General Election speech at the Carnegie Conference Centre on April 24, 2017 in Dunfermline, Scotland. The UK General election campaign is in full swing for all of the UK political parties ahead of the polling day on June 8, 2017. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
A blogger suing Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has denied that tweets he posted in March 2017 were homophobic.
Blogger Stuart Campbell is suing Kezia Dugdale for £25,000 after she accused him of being homophobic in a Twitter post on his blog Wings Over Scotland, reports the BBC.
Campbell made the comments on March 3, 2017 when he was live-tweeting about politician Oliver Mundell, whose father came out as gay in 2016, at the Scottish Conservative conference.
“Oliver Mundell is the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner,” wrote Campbell at the time.
Blogger sues Kezia Dugdale over “homophobic tweets” claim
Appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff court on Monday (March 25), Campbell defended his posts.
“I don’t think any intelligent person could honestly interpret that tweet as being homophobic,” he told the court, according to the BBC.
“I don’t think any intelligent person could honestly interpret that tweet as being homophobic.”
—Stuart Campbell
In a column for the Daily Record, Dugdale had reportedly said she was “shocked and appalled” by what she claimed were “homophobic tweets” uploaded by Campbell.
She also said that “such comments are of course not unique to the man who tweets as Wings Over Scotland”, adding that the account “spouts hatred and homophobia towards others.”
Kezia Dugdale expected to give evidence to court
Dugdale is set to give evidence in the court on Tuesday (March 25).
Mundell launched the legal case against Dugdale following her article in the Daily Record, alleging that she defamed him by saying he is homophobic.
Scottish Labour Party leader, Kezia Dugdale, poses as she arrives at the polling station at Wilson Memorial Church, Edinburgh, on June 8, 2017 to cast her vote in the 2017 general election. (LESLEY MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images)
Addressing the court room, Campbell said that his tweet was meant to be a “commentary,” which highlighted that Mundell was a “very, very poor public speaker.”
After being questioned by Dugdale’s legal team in court, Campbell said that only someone “dishonest or stupid” would believe that the tweet was homophobic.
He also claimed he is a “firm advocate of equal rights for gay people.”
