RIVALS SAY HE MUST QUIT HOLYROOD NOW
Opposition leaders call for Mackay to quit Parliament over ‘predatory’ behaviour
“PREDATORY” Derek Mackay is under pressure to quit Holyrood after being accused of “grooming” a 16-year-old schoolboy.
The MSP, who resigned as SNP Finance Secretary hours before he was set to deliver the Scottish Government’s annual budget statement, pestered the pupil with hundreds of messages and asked him to keep their exchanges quiet.
Interim Scots Tory leader Jackson Carlaw called for Mackay to resign after blasting his “totally inappropriate” behaviour, while Scottish Labour chief Richard Leonard hit out at the SNP MSP’s “abuse of power”. Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie added: “I think it would be time for him to resign now.”
It emerged yesterday Mackay had sent 270 online messages to the boy, using Instagram and Facebook, over a six-month period.
In a midnight exchange two days after Christmas, the MSP wrote: “You are looking good with that new haircut.”
The youngster replied: “Thanks, needed a change. Long hair was getting annoying.”
Mackay, who has a boyfriend, said: “Cute. You don’t mind compliments.” The boy said: “Not at all.” Mackay, who also offered the youngster “dinner” in another message, came back: “Good. And our chats are between us?”
The boy agreed and Mackay added: “Cool, then to be honest, I think you are really cute. Is that OK? Just as long as you know but you can delete that message.”
Other messages show the boy disclosing his age and Mackay continues with the messaging. However, the boy’s mum was made aware of the messages and the media were contacted.
She said: “Inside, I have always been afraid of what can happen on social media – but I never really thought something like this would happen to him.
“When I finally found out what was going on, I was furious.
“A man like that is not supposed to say these sort of things to a boy. He looks like he wants something from my son.
“When I finally read the messages, it was terrifying and made my stomach turn. My son’s friends, his girlfriend, can say he is ‘cute’ but not this strange man.
“When he asks my son if it’s OK to call him ‘cute’, he was then waiting for an answer. He was looking for a positive response to see if he can take it further. But he didn’t get a reply and then he seems confused and worried about what he has said.”
The teenager told another newspaper: “When he asked me about my haircut and said I was ‘cute’, I was grossed out. He had never complimented me about how I looked before.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accepted Mackay’s resignation from the Scottish Government and he was suspended from the SNP.
In a statement, Mackay said: “I take full responsibility for my actions. I have behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry.
“I apologise unreservedly to the individual involved and his family. I spoke last night to the First Minister and tendered my resignation with immediate effect.”
Sturgeon said: “Derek has taken full responsibility for his actions and apologises unreservedly for them to the individual and to those he has let down. He has submitted his resignation as a government minister, which I have accepted.”
However, Sturgeon stopped short of
calling on Mackay to quit his Renfrewshire North and West seat.
An SNP spokesman said: “Derek Mackay has been suspended from both the parliamentary group and the party while further investigation takes place.
“In the interests of due process, no further comment will be made.” Earlier in the day, Carlaw said he believed Mackay’s actions passed the test of “grooming”.
Leonard said Mackay’s behaviour was “nothing short of predatory”. He added: “His suspension from the SNP is welcome but he should go as a member of the Scottish Parliament.”
SNP MP Joanna Cherry tweeted: “Grooming behaviour is totally unacceptable and must be condemned without fear or favour. The First Minister was right to accept Derek Mackay’s resignation and suspend him. The party’s disciplinary procedures must now take their course.”
Mackay will be entitled to £11,945 after quitting the Government and will continue to pocket his £63,579 salary if he stays on as an MSP.