Cammy Day launches the Edinburgh tram passenger service (Image: Getty)
Labour’s leader of Edinburgh Council has been accused of “bombarding Ukrainian refugees with social media messages, asking about their sexual preferences, complimenting them on their appearance, and trying to organise dates”.
Two refugees told the Sunday Mail they felt unable to ignore Cammy Day’s advances, given his position as the city council leader.
Day has been suspended by Scottish Labour and now he’s the subject of a police probe.
One Ukrainian national, who fled to Scotland after Putin’s invasion in 2022, claimed that Day sent a slew of messages after they arrived in Edinburgh.
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Cammy Day has been suspended (Image: Getty)
The exchanges, seen by the Sunday Mail, purport to show Day asking messages of a sexual nature, sending love hearts and kissing emojis, and persistently asking if they wanted to “meet up for wine”.
Most of the correspondence was left unanswered by the refugee. The senior Scottish Labour figure also allegedly contacted the refugee on a dating app, using more explicit language, according to the Sunday Mail.
The source told the outlet: “From the very beginning when I arrived in Scotland I was open to finding new friends as I was by myself in the country.
“After the trauma of the war, I felt lonely and also a stranger in a new country. When Cammy Day first wrote to me from several social medias I was surprised that a person of such a high position was interested in me, and then I saw him a couple of times at pro-Ukrainian events.”
They are also reported to have said: “He found and subscribed to me on social media and started liking my stories intensively, sending kissing emojis, especially when I posted gym and pool photos.
Cammy Day is being investigated by police (Image: PA)
“One day he found me on a dating website and messaged me which was very strange to me as he was already following my social media and knew that I knew who he was.”
The refugee said they felt they should be “polite” due to Day’s position, but tried to avoid being drawn on sexual topics.
The source told the outlet: “Every time he wrote to me in the dating app I felt under pressure, afraid to say no or say something wrong.
“I tried to ignore all his hints about sex or meeting up because I was afraid of his influence and just tried to be polite to avoid any conflict.
Another refugee, who has since left the Scottish capital for another country, claimed they too received messages from someone purporting to be Day on social media and on dating website, while they lived in the city.
They said: “He started following me then sent lots of emojis and reactions to posts and asked to meet up. It was too much and I didn’t know how to say I didn’t want him to contact me any more because of his position.
“I left the UK for another country shortly after that and so was able to forget about it. They also said: “It is a bit strange for a council leader to be doing it.”
Now police are investigating some of the concerns over the council leader’s behaviour over the last 18 months. The Sunday Mail reports that they’ve interviewed several fellow councillors and senior officials, including some who’d raised concerns about Day.
According to the outlet, in December 2023, a councillor reported the official’s advances made towards one Ukrainian refugee. However, council officials told them to contact the police.
Officers are reported to have dismissed the case, as there was no criminality.
The councillor told the Sunday Mail: “I was concerned after being told about one Ukrainian national who was being sent harassing messages.
“There was an element of a power dynamic there. The person couldn’t raise it as an issue because of their own status and a fear of retribution. You’re talking about the most vulnerable people, refugees.
“I was told to go to the police so I did but they weren’t able to do anything about it as they didn’t see it as criminal.”
It is believed authorities are also assessing a complaint made last year to the city council’s whistleblowing service.
Police are said to have interviewed the authority’s chief executive and councillors, with more interviews on the way.
The Sunday Mail reports that Day did not respond to their requests for comment, and had previously said police hadn’t contacted him and that he didn’t know what their investigation was about.
The Labour party has now put him on administrative suspension, while the allegations of misconduct are probed.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate action is taken.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman told the outlet: “On Tuesday, 22 October, 2024, we received a report of inappropriate behaviour. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
An Edinburgh City Council spokeswoman said: “All matters raised with the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer have been progressed through our established processes in consultation with our independent whistleblowing service, Safecall, and, where appropriate, Police Scotland.”
Cammy Day was contacted for comment.
