THE ROWLEY CONSPIRACY
Interim leader axed 5 WEEKS after claims of harassment surfaced
SCOTTISH Labour have been accused of a cover-up as it emerged they knew about harassment claims against their acting leader five weeks ago.
Alex Rowley was suspended yesterday after an ex-partner went public with claims he bombarded her with abusive messages.
But the Daily Record can reveal Labour threatened legal action when journalists first told them of
the claims on October 10. That was when the contents of a police report listing allegations of “stalking” and “psychological harm” were presented to the party’s press office.
In response, Labour’s lawyers, Steel & Shamash, sent a letter warning against publication.
The party only launched an investigation into the claims yesterday amid public outcry. They promised the probe would be “fair and transparent”.
A Tory spokesman said last night: “This reeks of hypocrisy from Scottish Labour.”
The controversy was sparked by complaints from an ex-girlfriend of Rowley that the twice-married father-of-three had “destroyed” her life and she was the “shadow of the woman I once was”.
The 49-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed Rowley was a “ruthless bully” who had become “obsessed” with her.
She said the politician, formerly an election agent for Gordon Brown, sent her a string of threatening messages. Although she complained to the police on two separate occasions, no action was taken.
In a statement yesterday Rowley, who had been acting party leader since Kezia Dugdale’s dramatic resignation in August, rejected the allegations and said he would work to clear his name.
Labour then announced they would be removing the whip from him for the duration of the investigation. Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie has replaced him as interim leader.
Rowley had been absent from the Scottish Parliament for two weeks, with party bosses citing a chest infection.
But behind the scenes he was waging a frantic war to stop several newspapers publishing the damaging claims.
The October 10 letter from the law firm’s senior partner Gerald Shamash was sent to several outlets, including our sister paper the Sunday Mail.
It said: “We cannot state strongly enough that our client categorically denies all these allegations. Our client has never been contacted by police in relation to these matters and has never stalked anyone nor sought to cause psychological harm to anyone whatever that might entail.
“As you will appreciate we will take all necessary steps to protect our client’s reputation.”
A second letter from Rowley’s personal lawyers Thompsons, on October 21, repeated the claim the politician had never been contacted by the police in relation to the complaint.
But the Record has now established that Rowley definitely was interviewed by police over the allegations, which involved two separate complaints in 2011 and 2014.
If the Labour investigation finds he deceived colleagues on that issue, it could spell the end of his political career.
Opposition parties raised questions about Labour’s handling of the allegations.
An SNP spokesman said: “This smacks of a cover-up by Labour. It turns out they’ve known all about these allegations for weeks and weeks but did their utmost to keep them under wraps.
“All their talk of transparency rings hollow when their lawyers have been trying to stop this news hitting the headlines. But now they’ve been caught out.
“There are still big questions for Labour to answer – how long have they known about these allegations, why didn’t they investigate weeks ago when they came to light and who ordered the cover up?”
A Tory spokesman added: “This reeks of hypocrisy from Scottish Labour. They cannot both claim transparency and cover up allegations about senior figures at the same time.
“The party must act to ensure people can have confidence in their procedures.”
But a Scottish Labour spokesman last night insisted: “The party had insufficient knowledge to initiate any type of formal investigation prior to the reports in a newspaper.
“The party have acted in accordance with procedures at all times. No complaints were received or evidence shared with the party prior to reports in the newspaper.”
In a statement Rowley said: “I totally refute these allegations and will take all steps necessary to clear my name.
“These allegations must be properly and thoroughly investigated in line with party procedures – and I will refer myself to the party so such an investigation can take place.
“While that investigation is carried out, I will step aside as deputy leader, as well as interim leader.”