VILE MSP PUT ME IN HOSPITAL
Victim breaks silence to reveal McDonald hell She calls for shamed politician to quit Holyrood
A victim of sex shame MSP Mark McDonald has told of her harassment hell at the hands of the former minister.
The woman, who is not being named, was left in hospital and off work for six months. She has called for him to quit as an MSP.
A victim of shamed MSP Mark McDonald has broken her silence to tell of the “devastating impact” his warped sexual behaviour had on her.
The woman, who spoke to the Sunday Mail anonymously, was so tormented by McDonald’s inappropriate conduct that she ended up in hospital and was off work for six months.
She is calling for him to quit Holyrood for good so she can move on with her life – and allow other females in the Scottish Parliament to feel safe. The victim works for McDonald’s colleague James Dornan MSP. He plans to ask parliamentary authorities to remove the politician after seeing first-hand the effect the former childcare minister’s behaviour had on his employee.
She spoke out af ter McDonald made a public apology for his conduct last week and quit the SNP – but insisted he will still sit as an independent MSP.
She said his media appearances had made her feel “abused” all over again and convinced her to finally take action.
She said: “As a victim of Mark McDonald, I have decided enough is enough.
“During the course of this investigation, the victims chose to stay silent, not only to allow the investigation to be conducted properly but because we are aware that Mr McDonald has a family and children and we wanted to be respectful of that.
“However, I now feel his constant media spin, attempts to gain sympathy and retain his salary have pushed me to the point where I now want to make my side public.
“I have to make it clear that his behaviour was beyond the pale and had a devastating impact.
“This was more than a few improper texts but a catalogue of attempts to abuse his position of power.
“Mr McDonald claims to be sorry but I see his attempt to return to their place of work as a blatant affront to that apology.
“I only came forward when the Weinstein allegations made it more accessible to do so. Mr McDonald was using social media to repeatedly support victims of harassment.
“I have only taken this course of action because it was right not only for me but for future generations of women who would work at the Scottish Parliament. The victims in this case are continuously being abused by Mr McDonald’s media campaign and I call for his resignation. “Only then will I feel like his apology is real and that my life can move forward.” McDonald, who represents Aberdeen Donside, resigned from his Cabinet position on November 4 following reports he had sent a text message to a woman which included a reference to a sex act. The 37- year- old was later suspended from the SNP following two further allegations.
We told that month how McDonald replaced his Twitter profile picture with a sinister shadow figure lurking beside a privet hedge.
He changed it to a blank space after the Sunday Mail drew it to the attention of SNP officials.
In February, we revealed he hadn’t been seen in parliament for three months since the claims had surfaced.
Last week, af ter concluding an investigation into him, the SNP’s report on two of the claims found that his inappropriate behaviour had been deliberate. The SNP said they had not come to a definite conclusion on an allegation
by a third woman that the MSP had made inappropriate physical contact with her at a social event.
The party stated McDonald’s conduct had included inappropriate and unwanted text and social media messages, unwanted attention causing distress, persistent behaviour over time and exploiting his position of power.
After the damning decision, McDonald made a public apology, stating his behaviour fell below what was expected of him but announcing he would stay on as an independent MSP.
He said: “While at no stage was my behaviour in any way physically abusive, and while it was certainly not my intention to cause any upset, discomfort or offence to those concerned, it is clear through the concerns highlighted in the report that I have done so.
“That is something which I deeply regret. I would like to take the opportunity here and now to offer a public and unreserved apology to those individuals for the hurt and offence that I have caused them.”
But MSP Dornan urged McDonald to show true remorse for his actions and quit.
He said: “Mark McDonald has no idea of, or apparent interest in, the damage he has caused his victims. I saw my member of staff end up in hospital and off work for six months because of the pressure of having to deal with his behaviour and the aftermath.
“If he is such a reformed character like he now claims to be, then he would do the decent thing and consider his position.
“He should certainly never set foot in the Scottish Parliament again and I will be making an off icial complaint on Monday to the parliamentary authorities to ask for his removal from the parliament to be considered.
“This should no longer be about Mark McDonald but about the wellbeing of his victims.”
Leading human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar – who represents a number of women who have complained of sexual abuse and harassment, including those complaining about McDonald – called the MSP “grotesque”.
He said: “This man stands accused of repeating his abuse.abuse His self-self denial and desperate media spin is grotesque.
“To date, the women he abused gave him the benefit of the doubt to protect his wife and family – yet he does not give a damn.
“If there was a scrap of decency left in this man, then he would have recognised he has been exposed and given up being an MSP, as he did his minister’s post.
“The parliamentary authorities should take every step to ensure that this man never gets through the front door again.
“He has disgraced his position, his party and his family. It’s time he removed himself from public life.”
McDonald refused to comment last night.