VILE vandals who sprayed Covid-denying graffiti on a wall near Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) have been branded “morons” by a councillor who is now calling for tougher action over the spread of misinformation on Covid.

SNP man Kenny MacLaren is set to put a motion before full council next week condemning the mindless act, which he insists will have deeply hurt those who have lost loved ones to Covid-19 as well as hard-working NHS staff.

His motion will also ask the council to encourage everyone who is eligible for a jab to get it and commit to tackling lies about the pandemic and vaccines.

Earlier this month, the yobs first sprayed “scamdemic” on a wall less than half a mile from the RAH before another twisted message was found near the Phoenix Retail Park in Linwood just days later.

Councillor MacLaren, who represents Paisley Northwest, said he was pleased the council took swift action, but has insisted more needs to be done to stop the scourge of fake news.

He said: “There has recently been an outbreak of some moronic graffiti across Paisley claiming the Covid pandemic is a scam.

“Try telling that to those who have lost loved ones and to the hard-working staff at the RAH who are battling through long shifts trying to cope with the impact of Covid on Renfrewshire residents.

“It’s good that the council has been cleaning up this graffiti as quickly as possible but we really need to tackle these morons to stop them spreading their lies.

“The vaccine is saving lives and I would encourage everyone to take up their appointment when it comes.”

Councillor MacLaren’s motion will also congratulate everyone involved in the vaccination effort.