An Argyll councillor targeted by “sexist” online bullies is getting emails from dating and x-rated websites with names like “hot Ukrainian brides” at a rate of 400 an hour after her account was hijacked.
Julie Mackenzie accidentally used her personal email address on her campaign leaflets in the run-up to the recent council elections.
What followed was the start of at least 10,0000 emails from dating, double glazing, mortgage and other websites that she says are “too dodgy to mention”.
The SNP member of Argyll and Bute Council intends to report the harrassment to the police. She has also received “suggestive” online messages from local men.
She believes the sexualised email attack was aimed at her because she is a woman and says that while social media can be a useful tool, it can also be abused.
Ms McKenzie, 43, said: “I have had local men being suggestive contacting me on messenger.”
She said she has spoken to other women councillors elsewhere in Scotland who have been subjected to similar.
She said: “I don’t think they would hit a man with this. Women politicians seem to have to put up with this. It’s completely unacceptable.”
Mike Russell, MSP for Argyll and Bute, said: “This is bullying. It is essentially harassment and abuse. There are legal remedies for this and I hope the person is found. It is a disgrace.
“It is a disgrace in terms of her constituents, the volume of emails being so high that she is struggling to find the genuine ones.
“Julie is working very hard for people and this is a disgusting thing to do to her.
“I hope that the police find out who did this and I hope they are subject to the full ramifications of the law.”
Ms McKenzie posted an angry status on her Facebook account: “Whichever joker signed my email address up to hot Ukrainian brides, match.com and other other sites too dodgy to mention, I’m now being bombarded with about 400 emails an hour and have 10k + emails in my inbox.
“You may think this is hilarious and causing me grief, but the people it affects most are my constituents, with real requests for help, that are now lost in the mix. When I will find out who has done this, I will out you publicly.”
She said: “This wasn’t something I felt I signed up for when I took up my position of being a campaigner for the local community.
“No elected member should be having to put with this nonsense. I think social media is a really positive tool if it is used in the right way. I don’t want to be forced off social media, it’s a great way to engage with genuine constituents.
“I have suspended the account at the moment, I’m in the process of putting filters in to get rid of it.
“It is not my council email it’s my personal email account. I made the mistake of putting it on my campaign leaflets. It’s a lesson for me.
“Obviously someone has just signed me up to all of these sites. I have also been signed up to double glazing and mortgage companies.”
A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said: “The council’s internet security arrangements provide a degree of filtering to councillors’ business email accounts. This issue appears to have begun when Councillor McKenzie was a candidate, campaigning for the local council elections, and relates to her personal email address.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for the council to comment further. We have not been made aware of any issue by other elected members.”