MSP looked on as I was bullied, says ex-employee
‘Overwhelming feelings of panic’
A STROKE survivor suing her former boss MSP Stuart McMillan for unfair dismissal described yesterday how he stood back and watched as a colleague ‘exploded’ with rage at her.
Philomena Donnachie said the Nationalist politician looked on as she was subjected to ‘aggressive’ behaviour by office manager Matthew Leitch.
Miss Donnachie began working for the SNP after the referendum campaign in 2014, but two years later suffered a stroke while in the office and was off for a period of three months. She was later signed off with work-related stress in 2018 for 11 months and returned to work on February 19 last year.
But soon after this the 58-year-old received an email notifying her to attend a mediation meeting to discuss matters in the office between herself and Mr Leitch.
Miss Donnachie said she had no idea Mr Leitch would be there, along with the MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde Mr McMillan and a female colleague.
Miss Donnachie told a Glasgow tribunal: ‘I could see in his facial expression he was very angry.
‘He gritted his teeth and said he’s “got things to say to Philomena that she won’t like”. My back was against the wall. He then turned back to my colleague and repeated she “better get out”.’ She added: ‘At no point did Mr McMillan or the mediator interrupt Matthew’s explosion and agitation. I was intimidated. He [Mr Leitch] was very aggressive… I felt sick and vomited in the toilet from overwhelming feelings of panic, being attacked and being upset.’
She was once more signed off sick. Then, on March 7, Mr McMillan received an email complaint from Mr Leitch, alleging Miss Donnachie and a colleague had made ‘salacious’ comments about him. It said: ‘Philomena had been making comments in public to people that you and I know, that I stare at the back of her head… because I get aroused by staring at the back of her head.’
Miss Donnachie denied this, saying: ‘I’ve said to a friend that everything I do is being watched. But I’ve never said anything salacious.’
On March 20, Miss Donnachie received an email from Mr McMillan informing her of the grievance.
She resigned on June 11. Miss Donnachie said: ‘There was no way I could go back after receiving that letter… I was mortified.’
The hearing continues.