A former SNP council leader has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences against young men and teenagers as young as 14.

Jordan Linden, once considered a rising star in the SNP, was convicted of five sexual assaults on young men after a trial at Falkirk sheriff court in March, which heard that the SNP had “downplayed or ignored” complaints about his behaviour.

The 30-year-old, who stood down as leader of North Lanarkshire council in 2022 after the allegations emerged, was also convicted of directing unwanted sexual communications towards seven teenagers, the youngest aged 14, including photos of himself in a bath and images of his genitalia.

One of the offences involved him sexually assaulting two victims at a house party in Dundee after a Pride march in 2019.

Linden, who also chaired the Scottish Youth Parliament, denied all the offences, which took place over a 10-year period from 2011 until 2021. He has been placed on the sex offender register.

One witness told the trial that during a trip to Barcelona with Young Scots for Independence, the SNP’s youth wing, Linden had climbed into his bunk at a youth hostel and started caressing him and trying to kiss his neck.

He said he had reported Linden’s behaviour to police in 2023 because he did not feel confident that complaints he had made to the SNP would be dealt with properly.

“Everywhere I went for help in the SNP I was ignored or it was downplayed,” he told the court.

John Swinney, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister said he hoped the sentence would give victims “some assurance [Linden] has has been held to account for the unacceptable behaviour that they experienced”.

Swinney, who was campaigning in Hamilton before Thursday’s elections, said: “We have already strengthened complaints handling within the SNP, I consider it to be robust. But I want independent scrutiny to determine whether it is sufficiently robust.”

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said the case exposed “the rotten culture at the heart of the SNP”.

He told supporters at a rally in Glasgow: “This is who they are: secrecy, cover-up, corruption. Party first, country second.”

After Linden’s conviction, victims told the Mail on Sunday, which broke the original story, that they wanted the charities regulator to investigate the Scottish Youth Parliament, which they described as “a hunting ground” for Linden. One described being touched and tickled in front of other youth workers, who dismissed the behaviour as “just Jordan”.

DCI Diane Barr, the senior investigating officer on the case, said: “This was a protracted investigation which involved speaking with a broad range of people, many of whom regarded Linden as being in a position of trust.

“He abused this position to befriend young males who were seeking his support and the opportunity to learn from his work, however his conduct toward them was far from professional.

“I’d like to thank the victims who came forward to report their experiences to police. Their testimony and support ensured that we were able to bring Linden before the courts.”