Axed Rowley: Lawyer told me to say nothing
Letter shows Labour MSP didn’t tell party about ‘stalking’ claim
A BOMBSHELL letter released by the Labour last night showed Alex Rowley kept the party in the dark over “stalking” allegations involving an ex-partner.
The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP stepped aside as the party’s acting leader on Wednesday before being suspended from the parliamentary group amid allegations he sent abusive messages to an ex.
The party tried to defend themselves from allegations of a cover-up by publishing the full text of the letter sent to them by Rowley on Wednesday.
In it he claims he “had no knowledge” of any complaint being made against him until October 10, when he was contacted by police, after the issue was raised by journalists.
Labour emphasised Rowley had not told them of the police contact on October 10 until his letter earlier this week.
In his letter to Scottish Labour general secretary Brian Roy on Wednesday, Rowley revealed: “On October 10 this year, I was contacted by Police Scotland in relation to a complaint that was made against me almost four years ago.
“Until October 10, I had no knowledge whatsoever that this complaint had ever been made. The police told me that after looking at the complaint at the time it was made, they deemed it not necessary to inform me that it had happened and certainly never questioned me about the accusation either formally or informally. “The reason they were now informing me was they had been contacted by a newspaper asking if such a complaint had been made.
“I have since that point been acting on my lawyer’s advice. I was advised that because the police clearly took the view there was no case to answer I did not have to take action.”
A Labour spokesman said: “At no point did the Labour party receive a formal complaint regarding Alex Rowley.
“The party were approached by newspapers with unsubstantiated claims, with no evidence shared with the Labour Party prior to publication.
“While the party could not formally investigate these claims in the absence of evidence and a complaint, they were put to Mr Rowley, who completely refuted them. As noted in Mr Rowley’s letter, he didn’t disclose to the party police contact on October 10.
“In the interests of transparency Scottish Labour are publishing the text of Mr Rowley’s letter referring himself to the independent investigations process.
“Since the allegations were published, Labour in Holyrood have removed the whip from Mr Rowley, suspending him from the parliamentary group.
“It is important that this process is fair and transparent.”
Labour threatened legal action when journalists first told them of the harassment 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 to our sister paper the Sunday Mail.
A second letter from Rowley’s lawyers, Thompsons, on October 21 repeated the claim the politician had never been contacted by the police about the complaint.
The controversy was sparked by complaints made by an ex-girlfriend of Rowley that the twice-married dad of three had “destroyed her life”. The woman, 49, described Rowley as a “ruthless bully” who became “obsessed” with her.
Rowley had been absent from Holyrood for two weeks prior to the allegations, with party bosses citing a chest infection.
But behind the scenes he was waging a frantic war to stop newspapers publishing the claims.
Labour in Holyrood have removed the whip from Mr Rowley. It is important process is fair LABOUR PARTY