Ex Bay City Roller sacked over child porn

A founding member of the Bay City Rollers who was caught with child pornography in his home has been sacked from his job as a nurse.

Derek Longmuir, who last month escaped jail after pleading guilty to having indecent photographs and videos of children at his Edinburgh home, has been dismissed from his post at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary following an internal investigation by senior hospital managers.

A spokesman for Lothian Universities Trust said today: "In line with the Trust's internal disciplinary policy and after a formal hearing staff nurse Derek Longmuir has been dismissed.

"An appeal against this decision has been lodged."

Longmuir was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and his name was placed on the Sex Offenders Register when he appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing last month.

The 49-year-old, who was a drummer with the Scottish band who achieved chart success in the 1970s, had also admitted making indecent photos of children at his home in March 1998 by downloading them from the Internet.

He was suspended from his job as a nurse at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary shortly after his first court appearance.

Longmuir had claimed in court that the indecent material belonged to an American friend.

A total of 22 pornographic videos and 40 computer disks with 117 images of indecent material, some showing sex involving children, were found when Lothian and Borders police raided his home at the city's Queens Park Court in September 1998 following a tip-off.

Last month Longmuir's lawyer Robbie Burnett made a plea in mitigation urging Sheriff Isobel Poole not to jail his client.

He said that losing his job would destroy Longmuir who had found his vocation in caring for people.

At an earlier hearing the court heard how Longmuir pointed out to officers where to find disks and videos during the raid on his home.

Mr Burnett had told the court that Longmuir was "not a paedophile and was not someone who engages in child sex nor somebody terribly interested in child porn".

He said that all the videos, indecent photographs and all the computer disks bar four files belonged to an American friend who had asked Longmuir to look after the material, which was kept in a locked drawer, for him.

The Bay City Rollers achieved international fame in the 1970s with a string of hits including Shang-a-Lang and Bye Bye Baby.