Councillor who quit SNP faced sex claims
SNP chiefs have confirmed they received two complaints of sexual harassment against a senior councillor – just days before he quit the party.
Lewis Ritchie resigned from the Nationalist whip this week after claims he was involved in an ‘altercation’ at the party conference last year.
It has since emerged he was at the centre of two sexual harassment allegations made to party bosses days before he quit.
According to reports, Mr Ritchie denied any wrongdoing but admitted to having an alcohol problem.
Mr Ritchie, Edinburgh City Council’s former planning chief, has been on ‘leave of absence’ since November, but last week the SNP confirmed he had been suspended.
The party claimed this was down to health reasons.
It is believed his suspension from the party followed a probe into an alleged altercation outside the party conference at the Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow in October.
He was set to appear before a disciplinary hearing – but he resigned before this was held.
The SNP confirmed Mr Ritchie has been accused of sexual harassment but refused to provide details of the alleged incidents. A spokesman said; ‘One [complaint] concerned an incident at SNP conference. The other two contained allegations of a sexual harassment nature.
‘Cllr Richie was suspended pending a hearing, before subsequently resigning from the SNP.’
Yesterday, Mr Ritchie could not be reached for comment. But according to reports in a local newspaper he has denied the accusations.
He told them: ‘I do recognise I have a drink problem and at times this has caused harm and upset to those who care about me and to those I wouldn’t want to cause harm.’
Last year Mr Ritchie was forced to apologise to a female colleague after making what was described as a ‘completely inappropriate’ comment to her at a committee meeting.
He told councillor Kate Campbell during a planning meeting that she could touch a stone with her hands and ‘whatever other parts of your body you want to touch it with’.
Mr Ritchie was elected to represent the Leith Walk ward following a by election in 2015.
The allegations against him come as it was claimed yesterday suggest that shamed MSP Mark McDonald could be forced out of the SNP over sexual harassment claims.
An investigation into his behaviour was said to have found evidence of ‘misconduct’. But SNP sources insisted that the investigation was ongoing.
Mr McDonald was suspended amid claims he ‘frightened’ a woman, and he also admitted causing ‘considerable distress’ to another after sending her a lewd text message.
It has since emerged a woman has complained to SNP bosses claiming that she woke up in the MSP’s hotel room bed – but could not remember how she got there. Private investigators are probing a number of complaints against Mr McDonald.
‘Caused harm and upset’