Calls for Sturgeon to suspend ex-MP
Lawyer Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh may be struck off
NICOLA Sturgeon is facing calls to suspend a former MP from a powerful role within the SNP’s ruling body amid a probe into ‘professional misconduct’.
Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh is due to attend a hearing at which she could be struck off from acting as a lawyer if found guilty after the Law Society of Scotland opted to ‘prosecute’ the former Ochil and North Perthshire MP.
The hearing was requested by the Law Society after it investigated allegations of financial impropriety relating to a trust fund set up to help a vulnerable person.
Despite losing her seat in last June’s general election, Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh remains an influential figure in the SNP and sits on its National Executive Committee (NEC) as Women and Equalities Officer. She is also a close ally of former First Minister Alex Salmond and a shareholder in his television production company, Slainte Media.
Both Labour and the Tories last night called for her to step aside from her party role until the hearing by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) is concluded.
A Scottish Tory spokesman said: ‘If the SNP wants to behave to the standards it likes to demand of others, the party should consider suspending Tasmina AhmedSheikh. Otherwise, people will think the Nationalists are hypocritical.
‘Despite being rejected at the ballot box, she retains a senior role within the party – and that is sure to be of concern to Nationalist bosses as this case develops.’
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: ‘These revelations are deeply embarrassing for Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP.
‘The public will rightly be asking whether someone who is accused of professional misconduct and facing a tribunal should be sitting on the SNP’s ruling body.
‘Nicola Sturgeon must now publicly distance herself from Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh or face serious questions about her judgement.’
The SSDT is expected to arrange a hearing in the coming weeks, where the Law Society of Scotland would act as complainer and push for ‘prosecution’ of Mrs AhmedSheikh in a ‘mini court’.
When it investigated the matter, the Law Society could have decided she had no case to answer or concluded that an ‘unsatisfactory conduct’ prosecution – where a warning or small fine is issued – would be more appropriate.
But it has opted to push for a ‘professional misconduct’ prosecution. Its website says it only does this in ‘more serious cases’.
The tribunal, which is independent of the Law Society, will decide whether to prosecute, with powers available including striking off or suspension or ordering a compensation payment of up to £5,000.
After the complaint was referred to the SSDT, Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh has 21 days to respond before a hearing is organised.
Last May, the Scottish Daily Mail revealed the investigation into Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh and former business partner Niall Mickel related to a trust fund set up to help a vulnerable person.
It relates to her time at Hamilton Burns WS prior to becoming an MP in 2015. The mother of four set up the law firm as a partnership in 2001 and it became a limited company in 2014, but she resigned shortly after becoming an MP.
After the Law Society investigation was revealed, Miss Sturgeon played down the complaint, saying ‘there are hundreds of issues raised with the Law Society every year’.
At the time, Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh said she was ‘proud’ of her 17-year legal career and that the complaint related to ‘administrative matters during my time at my former firm’.
Mrs Ahmed-Sheikh did not respond to calls last night and an SNP spokesman declined to comment on her NEC role.
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