A former Lord Provost of Glasgow who bombarded his ex-partner with texts and social media messages has been banned from going near her for five years.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday, Philip Braat was also ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work and fined £840.
The 49-year-old, of the city’s Broomhill, had earlier pleaded guilty to a single charge of stalking after he contacted the woman more than 100 times between July and September 2024 in a bid to win her back.
The pair started dating in 2021 and went on to live together. But the woman ended the relationship a year ago.
She received an email the next day from the councillor which included an apparent resignation letter to his employer.
Fiscal Paige Phillips said: ‘The woman thought that this was fake and to get her attention as well as to make her feel guilty.’
Braat attempted to persuade her that they should be together and stated he could ‘not live’ without her’. He said: ‘You better visit my parents and you better keep my legacy alive.’
She believed that this was in reference to Braat ending his life. Between July and September, she received 18 emails, 51 Instagram messages, 15 text messages, 37 WhatsApp messages and a LinkedIn message.
Some of the emails contained ‘goodbye’ letters to the woman and Braat’s own family.
She stated that the messages were not nasty but there was ‘no escape’ from Braat and she could ‘not cope any longer’.
Solicitor advocate Andrew Seggie, defending, told the court: ‘He was the Lord Provost during the pandemic and he felt additional pressure to assist those who lost loved ones as a result of the pandemic.
‘He was trying to manage this and juggle his own family issues and the end of the relationship caused him to suffer a mental health breakdown.’
Sheriff Owen Mullan imposed the non-harassment order and said the unpaid work must be completed within six months.
He said Braat ‘overstepped the mark’ and it would have been ‘stressful’ for the woman.
Braat has served the Anderston/City/Yorkhill ward since 2007 and is subject of an investigation by Scottish Labour.