Jordan Linden has told his lawyers to appeal his conviction and sentence.
A disgraced former SNP council leader who was jailed for sexually assaulting young men has launched a bid to clear his name.
Jordan Linden, 30, was convicted of the attacks as well as directing unwanted sexual communications towards seven teenagers. He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars at Falkirk Sheriff Court last week.
It has now emerged that he has told his lawyers to appeal his conviction and sentence. Linden, who was once leader of North Lanarkshire Council, sent youngsters sexual communication which included photos of him in a bath and shots of his genitalia.
The offences took place over a 10-year period from 2011 until 2021. He repeatedly denied any wrongdoing but was convicted by jurors following a seven-day trial in March.
Linden, who also chaired the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP), had denied all the charges against him and claimed that they either did not take place or were consensual.
His lawyer, David Moggach KC, said Linden has been ‘bullied’ in his teenage years because of his sexuality and suffered ‘social isolation’ as a result. He added that Linden was now aware that his behaviour ‘simply was unacceptable and he overstepped certain boundaries’.
Sheriff Christopher Shead ruled that there was no alternative to a prison sentence and placed Linden on the sex offenders’ register. Linden blew a kiss to his dad as he was led away to the cells and was later seen in handcuffs being loaded into a prison custody van.
Shamed Linden became a councillor for the SNP in 2017 and rose to become council leader in North Lanarkshire in 2022. He resigned from the post a few weeks later following the allegations and was arrested in 2024.
The court heard from an SNP party official who said Linden locked him in a bathroom and tried to get him to urinate while he watched. The man, who was 18 at the time, said the incident took place after a Dundee Pride parade when Linden was very drunk and being ‘very handsy’ with people.
Another man, who joined the SYP at the same time as Linden as a teenager, said Linden’s touching, on the face or the cheek or the neck, was ‘relentless’.
First Minister John Swinney said he was ‘very sorry’ to anyone who suffered because of Linden. Swinney ordered an independent review of the SNP’s complaints process after some witnesses claimed complaints about Linden were ignored by the party.
The Appeal Court in Edinburgh confirmed that an ‘intention to appeal’ had been lodged for Linden.
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