New Tory hire fired after 'fabricating CV'

A political aide has been fired by the Scottish Conservatives before his first day, after being accused of fabricating aspects of his career history.

Craig Paterson was only recently hired by the Tories, who touted him as a former “senior political adviser” to Jim Murphy, the former Scottish Labour leader. The Scottish Conservatives hired him as the party’s new head of research.

However, Murphy was quick to rubbish the claims on Twitter, writing: “This story caught my attention. I have never knowingly met this guy let alone employed him in any role, ever.

“A bizarre fantasy from the Scottish Tories.”

Paterson was due to start his new role on Monday after going through two rounds of interviews, including with senior MSPs, but has now had his offer of employment withdrawn.

A spokesman said: “We will no longer be hiring this person after new information came to light.”