NEW ‘SEX PEST’ ● ROW ROCKS SNP
‘Sleaze infested’ party accused of caring more about bad press than alleged victim
NATIONALIST MPs rocked by sleaze allegations are demanding strict new rules and the threat of expulsion – for people leaking information to the media.
Two senior SNP politicians at Westminister are under investigation for allegedly sexually harassing a young member of staff.
Patrick Grady has stood down as chief whip amid allegations he inappropriately touched the 19-year-old in a pub in 2016.
A female MP, who has not been named, is accused of drunkenly propositioning the same man in the Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons last year.
The SNP staff member said his complaints had been ‘swept under the carpet’ by the party until they were leaked to the media.
Late last week, furious MPs exchanged WhatsApp messages in which they set out their concerns – not about the allegations but about the damage done to the party’s push for independence.
The allegations were revealed at the start of last week, and on Wednesday Joanna Cherry clashed with Ian Blackford during a heated meeting of Nationalist MPs.
She had demanded to know why she had been sacked as justice and home affairs spokesman while Mr Grady, at that time, had kept his role on the front bench.
Mr Blackford said it was because she was ‘not a team player’.
Nationalist MPs were horrified to see that exchange reported the next day in a newspaper.
Subsequent WhatsApp exchanges – revealed to The Scottish Mail on Sunday – were more concerned about leaks than harassment concerns. Ronnie Cowan, the MP for Inverclyde, wrote: ‘Our meetings have leaked from day one.
‘Maybe we need an enforceable code of practice that could result in expulsion for revealing private information?
‘I look forward to reading this in tomorrow’s papers.’
Chris Law, MP for Dundee West, said those speaking to the media ‘don’t give a f*** about the damage being done to our team, our party, or the impact it will have on support for independence’.
A party source said: ‘The response of some MPs is not to be supportive of the complainer, it is to keep this quiet. They’re saying people should not talk to the media because it’s going to undermine independence.
‘I fear the complainer is being lost in all this.’
Last night, opponents said the SNP cared more about concealing scandals than addressing problems at the root of the party.
Annie Wells, Scottish Tory MSP for Glasgow, said: ‘The SNP’s reason for existence is to cause
‘Again, SNP has swept claims under the carpet’
division, so it’s no surprise they’re now turning on each other.
‘Nicola Sturgeon has lost control as her sleaze-infested party engages in a full-blown civil war.
‘These revelations confirm they are more interested in covering it up than doing the right thing.’
Ms Wells added: ‘Some of these leaks were due to complainers feeling that senior SNP politicians were “protected”.
‘Voters are becoming sickened by the catalogue of SNP scandals that seem to be growing by the day.’
Scottish Labour’s business manager James Kelly said: ‘It is utterly appalling that senior SNP
MPs seem more concerned about bad press than they do about the serious allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against prominent members of their group.
‘Time and time again the SNP has swept allegations under the rug and has sought to protect politicians accused rather than doing the right thing by the victims.’
Scottish Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain said: ‘These texts suggest MPs are more concerned with stamping out leaks for fear they damage the independence movement than they are with stamping out harassment.’
An SNP spokesman said the party had ‘received a formal complaint’, adding: ‘That allows due process to take place. We will not be commenting further while an investigation is under way.’
People speaking to media don’t care about damage to our party