SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: A constituent of Day complained about ‘persistent sexual messaging’ by the former council leader in 2023.

A man who complained about sexual harassment by former council leader Cammy Day has challenged the politician’s claims of a conspiracy against him.

Day quit as head of Edinburgh’s local authority in December and was suspended from Scottish Labour after the Sunday Mail revealed he had sent sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees.

The police were already investigating a complaint of inappropriate communication against him but announced earlier this month that “no criminality has been established”.

The 50-year-old councillor said the whole affair had been a politically-motivated attempt to ruin his life, blaming the SNP in particular.

But one of Day’s constituents, who complained to Scottish Labour two years before the latest revelations emerged, said he was “disgusted” by his claims.

He said: “It has been frustrating to read that he is claiming it is a political smear.

“I am not in elected politics, I try not to pay too much attention to ­politics for my own sanity if I’m honest. I’ve worked in financial services for 15 years and I happen to be his constituent.

“I complained to Scottish Labour in 2023, long before any of this was in the media.

“While the police have deemed his behaviour not to reach a criminal threshold, the issue I have is that it is completely inappropriate.

“I felt that at the time, and still do. That’s why I complained.”

Day said there had been a ­coordinated attack against him, alleging “things were leaked to the media, leaked to the Labour Party and reported to the police all at the same time… and I think it was an orchestrated political campaign against me”.

But the man, who does not want to be named, claimed Day had been “relentless” in his messages to him through gay dating app Grindr years before any of the latest allegations were made public..

He added: “He would send pictures to try to prompt a response and if I blocked him new accounts would spring up using the same pictures.

“At one point, he tried to add me on Instagram and I declined it. Last year when I went to vote, I saw him standing outside the polling station and it made me really uncomfortable.

“Whether it is in public or ­professional life, people who are in positions of power should not be behaving like that. The way he has tried to brush it under the carpet, his complete lack of any humility is what I find ­incredibly frustrating.”

The man hit out at the Labour Party’s handling of his complaint.

He said: “I told them what was going on, that I was a constituent. I told them I didn’t want to go to the police, I didn’t want to speak to the media but I wanted them to quietly deal with the issue.

“Then they tried to put me through a grotesque process to progress the complaint and nothing happened. When I saw the initial reports coming out last year, I knew I had previously complained but Anas Sarwar was saying he had no knowledge of any complaints. I do not feel like my complaint was handled properly the first time.”

Along with the 2023 complaint to Labour, two whistleblowing disclosures were made about Day at that time.

Former council chief executive Andrew Kerr received a complaint in December 2023 and another was made the following October.

Edinburgh City Council has now launched an independent review of its handling of previous complaints, including what they claim is a “potential” complaint against Day made in 2006 – before he was a councillor. The Ethical Standards ­Commission is also probing a complaint against Day.

The Sunday Mail asked Scottish Labour if it was willing to accept the man’s offer to discuss his 2023 complaint and whether party leaders agreed with Day that he had been the victim of a political smear.

Labour said it was unable to comment while an investigation was ongoing, adding: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously.

“They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate action is taken.”

Day did not respond to the Sunday Mail’s request for comment.