UKIP candidate Mark Meechan linked to racist forum posts

Scottish UKIP candidate Mark Meechan was a prominent user of an online forum that contained racist language and threats against ethnic minorities. The forum was closed down by its host, US-based gaming community site Discord, following inquiries by the BBC. The chat group, which was littered with racist and Islamophobic terms as well as support for neo-Nazi groups, was promoted from Mr Meechan's Twitter. Mr Meechan said the forum 'operates on the principle of free speech'. The 31-year-old YouTube blogger, from Coatbridge, was convicted last year of posting a video of his girlfriend's pug lifting a paw when he said 'gas the Jews' or 'Sieg Heil'. It was described by a sheriff as anti-Semitic and racist but Mr Meechan denied he was a racist and said his conviction set 'a very dangerous precedent' for free speech.