Corbyn ally quits in harassment storm
A CLOSE ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn quit his job yesterday after allegations of harassment.
Alex Rowley, the election agent for former prime minister Gordon Brown, stood down as acting leader in the Scottish Parliament following accusations about his personal conduct from a former partner.
Last night there was pressure for him to have his party membership suspended by former Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale and the two candidates hoping to be the next Scottish leader, Richard Leonard and Anas Sarwar.
Blackmail
The whip in the Scottish Assembly has been withdrawn from Mr Rowley, who denies the allegations against him.
According to newspaper reports, the anonymous woman claimed he made her life “hell with his behaviour” and their relationship “felt like emotional blackmail and abuse”.
She said she was inspired to speak out after other women made complaints about misconduct at Westminster and Holyrood.
Mr Rowley is seen as a close ally of the hard-Left Labour leader. Scottish Labour’s business manager James Kelly said: “It is important that the investigation into these allegations is fair and transparent and the matter will be thoroughly investigated using the Labour Party’s internal complaints procedure.
“However, in light of the serious nature of the allegations, Labour at Holyrood has taken the decision to remove the whip from Alex Rowley for the period of this investigation.”
The drastic measure to withdraw the whip came after Ms Dugdale demanded his suspension during the probe into “serious and deeply concerning” claims.
She stated: “Had I remained in the position of leader of the Scottish Labour Party I would not have hesitated to suspend Alex Rowley from the party while these allegations are fully investigated.
“Given the evidence published today the right course of action for the Labour Party to take would be suspension.”
Mr Leonard, the frontrunner in the leadership race, whose campaign manager is Mr Rowley’s daughter Danielle, said the Labour Party “has to use its internal procedures to investigate these allegations.” Mr Sarwar said they are “distressing and deeply concerning”.
In a statement Mr Rowley said: “I totally refute these allegations and will take all steps necessary to clear my name.”