Scotland’s Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham has said that she will apologise to Lt Gen Sir Norman Arthur after posting his contact details on Twitter, leading to him receiving a string of abusive messages.
Sir Norman was formerly Scotland’s most senior solider and served as Governor of Edinburgh Castle. The Telegraph reports that he had sent out a letter asking for funds for ‘Better Together’, the pro-Union campaign in the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum.
Ms Cunningham posted an image of one of Sir Norman’s letters on Twitter that included his contact details.
Sir Norman was then subject to a barrage of abuse from so-called “cyber-nats”, pro-independence campaigners who have become notorious for sending expletive-ridden messages to opponents.
The General has demanded an apology from the Scottish government and has contacted Sir Peter Housden, permanent secretary of the Scottish Government. He says that Ms Cunningham’s actions forced him to contact the police and seek advice about protecting his family.
A spokesman for Ms Cunningham said, “This was a round-robin letter, which had already been widely circulated by others on Twitter.
“However, Ms Cunningham will write to Lt Gen Arthur to apologise for any inadvertent distress caused.”
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