Love triangle MP weds writer who had affair with his SNP colleague
By Rachel Watson IT was a sex scandal that shook the SNP and saw the break-up of two marriages.
Stewart Hosie resigned as deputy leader of the Nationalists after he and his Westminster colleague Angus MacNeil were found to have both had relationships with the same woman.
Now it has emerged that Mr Hosie, 55-year-old ex-husband of former Health Secretary Shona Robison, has married the 38-year-old journalist at the centre of the love triangle.
Mr Hosie, MP for Dundee East, wed Serena Cowdy in a low-key ceremony in Arbroath, Angus.
Mr Hosie resigned as deputy leader of his party after the Scottish Daily Mail revealed that he and Western Isles MP Mr MacNeil had both been involved with Miss Cowdy.
The Oxford-educated journalist had originally been having an affair with Mr MacNeil, a father of three, but the pair’s relationship ended after she began seeing Mr Hosie. Mr MacNeil’s marriage to his wife Jane broke up not long afterwards.
It emerged at the time that Miss Cowdy had admitted to being ‘in love’ with Mr Hosie, as she bragged to friends about their nights of passions – telling them about his ‘white Marks & Spencer Y-fronts’. But she had also admitted she ‘couldn’t keep her knickers on’ when around Nationalist MPs, whom she described as the sexy ‘Mujahideen of British politics’.
Mr Hosie married his former mistress at Arbroath Abbey in August, in a ceremony attended by other SNP MPs.
Yesterday pictures of the wedding emerged, showing Mr Hosie and Miss Cowdy during the ceremony and celebrating afterwards surrounded by family and friends.
In a short statement, a spokesman for the couple said: ‘Stewart and Serena are happy to confirm that they got married in early August. The couple will be making no further comment.’
The wedding had been a private event and it only emerged that the couple had married after an announcement showing a photograph of the day appeared in a local newspaper yesterday.
Several photographs have been posted online showing the couple celebrating at the beautiful abbey and in its grounds.
Miss Cowdy wore a white gown with lace side panels, while Mr Hosie opted for a kilt.
Images also reveal a three-tier chocolate wedding cake covered in colourful flowers, and sweet treats including Tunnock’s tea cakes served to guests.
The couple can also be seen taking part in their first dance, as well as some Scottish country dancing, while one picture appears to show an embarrassed Miss Cowdy as speeches are made.
In an online post, Miss Cowdy gushed about her wedding day and the photographs, saying she was ‘absolutely delighted’ with the outcome and speaking of the ‘enjoyment of the day’ by the couple and their guests.
Among those attending the wedding were SNP Westminster deputy leader Kirsty Blackman and MPs Stephen Gethins, Brendan O’Hara and Drew Hendry.
Last year Miss Robison, a close personal friend of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, broke her silence on the affair – admitting it had been a ‘difficult time’ for her and her teenage daughter.
Speaking previously, she said: ‘I wasn’t sorry to see the end of 2016. It was mixed and there were some good things, but generally it was a tough year. For anyone to go through a marriage breakdown is difficult, but when it is on the front page of every newspaper, it is hard.
‘You are also trying to protect family from that as well but, you know, it is character building. It can make you stronger and you do come through the other side.’
Miss Robison is understood to be in a relationship with Dundeebased Yes campaigner Mike Strachan.