Daily Record

SNP AXE SEX ROW MSP

McDonald faces more allegation­s

- DAVID CLEGG

SHAMED MSP Mark McDonald was finally suspended from the SNP yesterday amid fresh allegation­s about his behaviour towards women.

The party said they had received “new informatio­n” about the former childcare minister that was serious enough to warrant removing the whip pending an investigat­ion.

The latest dramatic twist in the Holyrood harassment scandal raised serious questions for Nicola Sturgeon, who last week played down

the seriousnes­s of McDonald’s actions.

The First Minister had backed his decision to stay on as a MSP despite quitting his ministeria­l role on November 5 after admitting “inappropri­ate” behaviour.

But the Record understand­s several women have approached the SNP with concerns about McDonald’s behaviour over the past three weeks and were referred to the party’s corporate governance and compliance manager Ian McCann.

None of the women wanted to formalise their complaints but sources insisted the party hierarchy have been aware of concerns about McDonald for some time.

One of the women who spoke to the party has complained that the Aberdeen Donside MSP’s inappropri­ate behaviour went beyond texts and emails.

It is unclear whether Sturgeon, who yesterday cut short her trip to the internatio­nal climate conference in Bonn, was aware of any of the details.

A source said: “The claims about McDonald have been in the air for several days.

“He has attempted to draw a line and cling on as an SNP MSP by saying it’s just a few texts and that he has been getting therapy.

“Meanwhile the women involved – and there are several – have been offered no help at all.

“There have been concerns raised about more than just what he said in written messages and the party hierarchy know that.”

Our sister paper the Sunday Mail revealed five days ago that the party were braced for new complaints and told how McDonald, 37, had changed his social media profile picture to an image of a creepy shadow figure lurking by a privet hedge.

It also told how McDonald had created a divide among the Holyrood group with several senior women increasing­ly concerned about how the case was being handled.

The source added: “It is inconceiva­ble that the party would not have asked McDonald about the picture. This is a man who was a minister until less than two weeks ago and he appeared to be treating the whole thing as a big joke.”

The Record understand­s Sturgeon’s downplayin­g of the incident – and the SNP’s insistence that the matter was now closed – encouraged other women to voice their concerns.

Last week, Sturgeon insisted the conduct that prompted McDonald’s ministeria­l resignatio­n was not serious enough to merit him stepping down as an MSP too.

And despite refusing to provide details of the allegation­s against McDonald, the SNP leader insisted some people would think he had gone too far by quitting his ministeria­l post.

She said McDonald, who has not been seen at the Scottish Parliament since his resignatio­n, had “done the right thing” and he was a “good MSP and he will be continue to be so.” Sturgeon claimed that revealing more details would compromise “the privacy and confidenti­ality of women” and discourage more victims from coming forward. Announcing McDonald’s suspension last night, an SNP spokesman said: “Following new informatio­n being received by the SNP over the course of the last 24 hours relating to the behaviour of Mark McDonald, he has been suspended from the parliament­ary group and the party while further investigat­ion takes place. “In the interests of due process and appropriat­e confidenti­ality no further comment will be made.” When he resigned from the Scottish Government on November 4, McDonald apologised for his actions – which are not thought to have been criminal in nature – and said his attempts to be “humorous” or “friendly” may have led others to become uncomforta­ble. He said he would be staying on as MSP for Aberdeen Donside and pledged to “continue to serve my constituen­ts to the best of my ability”. The married father of two was seen as a rising star in the Scottish Government prior to his humiliatin­g resignatio­n. Among the flagship policies in his brief was the “baby box” given to all new parents and the expansion of state-funded childcare.

 ??  ?? HARASSMENT SCANDAL McDonald has already admitted “inappropri­ate behaviour”
HARASSMENT SCANDAL McDonald has already admitted “inappropri­ate behaviour”
 ??  ?? SHAMED McDonald has been suspended
SHAMED McDonald has been suspended
 ??  ??

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