Shamed MSP admits he may run into women he harassed
SHAMED MSP Mark Mcdonald has admitted he might run into the women who accused him of harassment when he returns to Holyrood today but insists he is “morally justified” in staying on.
Mr Mcdonald – who quit the SNP after a string of allegations of sexual misconduct – has been missing from Holyrood for almost four months.
But he denied he is a sex pest and said allegations he groped a woman were untrue, while admitting to inappropriate behaviour in the past.
He now faces a fresh probe after a former party colleague lodged an official complaint containing a number of explosive allegations.
SNP deputy leadership hopeful James Dornan accused Mr Mcdonald of repeatedly harassing one of his staff members.
In a letter to Holyrood’s standards committee, Mr Dornan said this had contributed to the woman becoming so unwell she was hospitalised. He said it would be a “clear negation of the duty of care that the parliament has to all its members of staff” if Mr Mcdonald was allowed to return.
He has been given a temporary office in Holyrood’s basement after he was shunned by his former SNP colleagues. Pressure has been mounting on him to resign his Aberdeen Donside seat since he apologised last week.
An internal investigation for the SNP into allegations made by three women identified “persistent” behaviour including inappropriate and unwanted text messages from the married father-of-two.
However, Mr Mcdonald has insisted his return is morally acceptable. He said: “My approach to this has been to own the mistakes that I have made.”