A former SNP council leader who was found guilty of multiple sex offences against young men and teenagers has been jailed for 18 months. Jordan Linden resigned as the leader of North Lanarkshire Council in July 2022 after reports of alleged sexual harassment emerged, leading to the collapse of the SNP administration in the area.

Linden, who left the SNP in 2024, was convicted of 10 separate offences in March following a trial at Falkirk Sheriff Court, including five sexual assaults. He was also found guilty of charges involving sexual communication and of engaging in a course of conduct causing fear or alarm. The offences spanned the period 2011 to 2021 and took place at locations in North Lanarkshire and elsewhere. Linden, 30, was jailed for 18 months when he appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Wednesday and placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

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