UK politician suspended over sexual messages
to Ukrainians – media
Edinburgh City Council head Cammy Day has been suspended following accusations of sending sexually explicit messages to Ukrainian women, BBC Scotland reported on Sunday, citing Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
The Sunday Mail had earlier reported that Day, who represents the Labour party, had been texting the women to ask about their sexual preferences, trying to meet for dates and making compliments about their looks.
Labour is the third biggest party on the Edinburgh Council. However, Day has led the local authority for more than two years with support from the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Conservatives. Both of these groups are now calling for his resignation.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Sarwar, who described the allegations as “deeply distressing,” said the party took “immediate action” when it became aware of the claims of inappropriate behavior. He added that police are investigating the case, emphasizing that Day has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe.
According to several refugees, as cited by the Sunday Mail, it was impossible to ignore the unwelcome advances by the Labour politician due to his high position. One individual who fled Ukraine shortly after the escalation of the military conflict in 2022 told the news outlet that the 50-year old politician bombarded her with messages when she arrived in Edinburgh.
The messages, seen by the tabloid, show Day “asking sexually explicit questions, sending love heart and kissing emojis and repeatedly asking […] to meet up for wine.” In addition, the politician allegedly contacted refugees on a dating app where the messages were “more sexually explicit.”
“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,” an unnamed Ukrainian national said, adding that her friends had faced “a similar situation where he wrote to them on social media and in the dating app.”
“One of my Ukrainian friends said that this person had shown sexual interest for some time but I don’t know what actually happened or why he was interested specifically in Ukrainians,” the migrant added.
Another refugee, who has now left Edinburgh, confirmed having received multiple messages from Day via social media and dating sites while staying in the city.
“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 anymore because of his position.”
A Labour spokesman said the party is taking all complaints seriously and that they are being fully investigated. Meanwhile, a Police Scotland spokeswoman told the outlet that “enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”
Jay-Z accused of raping 13-year-old girl,
rapper calls it ‘blackmail attempt’
An amended lawsuit filed in federal court on Sunday alleges that rap mogul Jay-Z raped a 13-year-old girl along with Sean “Diddy” Combs during a party in 2000.
Jay-Z denied the allegations on social media and blasted the lawsuit, calling it part of a “blackmail attempt” by the plaintiff’s lawyer. Lawyers for Jay-Z did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit was originally filed in October in the Southern District of New York and at that time did not name Jay-Z as a defendant, though the amended lawsuit says that Jay-Z was identified as “Celebrity A” on the original complaint.
Combs has denied all allegations against him, including this one, in October. He is currently in jail on federal sex trafficking charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The lawsuit alleges that the unnamed girl was drugged and raped by both Jay-Z and Combs at a party hosted by Combs following the MTV Music Awards in 2000, which was held in New York.
Tony Buzbee, the Texas lawyer representing the girl who filed Sunday’s lawsuit, has filed at least 20 civil lawsuits against Combs accusing him of sexual misconduct.
In an email to Reuters, Buzbee said the Jay-Z lawsuit “speaks for itself.”
“This is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court,” Buzbee wrote.
Buzbee, in his amended lawsuit, says his legal firm had previously sent Jay-Z a letter seeking to mediate a settlement.
Jay-Z, the lawsuit says, responded to that letter by filing a lawsuit against Buzbee, and by “orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment” against Buzbee and other lawyers in his firm, which the lawyer said was an intimidation tactic meant to silence his client.
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