A serial rapist awaiting sentence for 17 offences against five young women was reported to parliamentary security after asking whether he should "disable" an SNP MP in the street. Aaron Stewart, 48, a Tory supporter, was reported over a tweet about Tommy Sheppard, the former SNP MP and founder of The Stand comedy club in Edinburgh.
Threatening tweet reported to security
In June 2022, a Twitter account in the name of @aaron_uk_aviv, featuring Stewart's photograph, tweeted: "Given the recent behaviour of @TommySheppard, if I see him in the street should I disable him? Seeking your guidance here." The message followed a claim that Scotland was under "an antisemitic administration".
The perceived threat was reported to the UK Parliamentary Security team after a tip-off by comedian Scott Agnew, a close friend of Janey Godley, who died of cancer in 2024. Agnew, who says he was also hounded online for years, emailed Sheppard: "Both myself and Janey Godley have long-standing problems with this man harassing and ranting about us going back as far as 2014."
Agnew added: "I have personal experience of him going back to the mid/late 2000s. I could write a small dissertation on the man. He even tried to start a social media pile on last September when he heard I'd survived a heart attack as I lay in a high dependency unit. He's very, very unhinged."
Escalation flagged
Agnew wrote: "Myself and Janey spotted this message and felt it best to flag it and him up – I'm sure you've already had dealings with him. But we're concerned by this message as it does seem like a bit of an escalation."
By reply, a member of Sheppard's team assured Agnew that his tip had been passed to UK Parliament security, as it was regarded as a "fairly open threat of assault". The aide added: "Sorry to hear about the pile-ons and the harassment of you and Janey".
Harassment of Janey Godley
The Record revealed that Stewart was reported by Janey to Police Scotland. The comic, who died from ovarian cancer in 2024, said he made repeated false claims that she was an IRA supporter. Stewart was also accused of mocking Janey by dressing up as her for a photo and posting the picture online.
The trolling accusations emerged after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, where Stewart was found guilty of the sex crimes. The former wine waiter at the Rogano restaurant in Glasgow was convicted of offences committed in Edinburgh, Glasgow and overseas.
Conviction and sentencing
The High Court heard how Stewart subjected victims to rape and sexual assault between 2008 and 2024. He indecently assaulted and raped his first victim at a flat in Glasgow in 2008, choking her and pulling her hair. He indecently assaulted a second woman at a club in April 2009 and raped her in September that year while she was intoxicated and incapable of consenting.
Another woman was subjected to repeated rapes between 2019 and 2021, and another victim was attacked in Edinburgh, Spain and Morocco. One rape victim told the court: "He forced me to look at him, saying, 'Look at me'." Lord Young placed Stewart on the sex offenders register. He was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on November 6 at the High Court in Stirling.
