YOU CAN’T TRUST THE SNP ON SEX HARASSMENT
Tory anger as Sturgeon admits women were ‘let down’
THE SNP cannot be trusted to handle complaints of sexual harassment properly, it was claimed yesterday.
Nicola Sturgeon came under fire over the handling of allegations about Alex Salmond and two MPs.
The First Minister admitted she will be ‘haunted’ for the rest of her life following an error in the Scottish Government investigation which meant two female complainants were ‘let down’.
It came as it was confirmed that a probe into the Scottish Government’s procedure for dealing with complaints is expected to publish its findings ‘shortly’.
The independent investigation, by Laura Dunlop, QC, is likely to pile pressure on Miss Sturgeon, who signed off the procedure, as well as Permanent Secreshown tary Leslie Evans.
Concerns about the SNP’s handling of complaints were raised this week when Patrick Grady stepped aside as the SNP’s chief whip at Westminster after it was revealed the party had launched an investigation into allegations by a staff member.
The SNP worker, who claims Mr Grady touched him inappropriately when he was 19 and has also raised allegations about an unnamed female MP, has criticised the party for failing to act on his concerns until the allegations were revealed in the press.
Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader at Holyrood, said: ‘This week has again that sexual harassment complainants cannot trust the ruling party to deal with a complaint properly.’
At First Minister’s Questions, Miss Sturgeon also faced claims she ignored legal advisers’ warnings about ‘ploughing on regardless’ in the court battle with Mr Salmond over the Government’s handling of complaints, despite clear warnings that it was heading for defeat.
Reports released by the Government show that senior counsel Roddy Dunlop, QC, warned on December 17, 2018, of the dangers of continuing to defend the case and the ‘large expenses bill that would inevitably arise’.
Taxpayers were eventually left with a £500,000-plus bill when the Government probe into Mr Salmond was found to be ‘unlawful’ and ‘tainted by apparent bias’.
Miss Davidson claimed that the costs increased by at least £100,000, and ‘perhaps even £200,000’ from the point Mr Dunlop wrote the note. She said: ‘I put it to her that, if she had conceded then, hundreds of thousands of pounds would have been saved. So why did the First Minister think she was a better lawyer [than Mr Dunlop]?’
Miss Sturgeon could not confirm how much the bill increased over the period after the advice was received. She said a First Minister must ‘take decisions based on the array of advice we have and weighing up the right things’.
Miss Sturgeon added: ‘Now it is undeniably the case that the Gov ernment made mistakes that I, we, are determined to learn from. Part of that is to look at why we got into a position in the judicial review where it became indefensible and therefore we ceased to defend it.
‘There is lots and lots and lots that I and the Government have to reflect on here, and I am absolutely determined to do that.
‘But the public have, if they so choose, the ability to read all of this for themselves. They will shortly have reports from the [Holyrood] committee, I hope; they will shortly, I hope, have reports from James Hamilton on the issues with the ministerial code; and they will shortly, I hope, have the report that the Government instructed from Laura Dunlop, QC, into some of the internal issues that we have to reflect on.’
Miss Davidson said the Government had ‘failed’ the women involved and five people, including a QC and a civil servant, had claimed the name of a complainant was leaked to a member of Mr Salmond’s team.
Miss Sturgeon said the leak allegation ‘is disputed’, adding: ‘I want everything about this to be open and transparent, because I want to learn lessons.
‘Ruth Davidson, perhaps belatedly, has started to talk about the women and I welcome that, because that is the issue at the heart of this. I’ll be haunted, for probably the rest of my life, about the way the Government, through an error, an error made in good faith... let down those women.
‘I have apologised for that. I wasn’t involved in the investigation so I wasn’t aware of the error at the time, but, as head of the Scottish Government, I take and I feel responsibility for that.’
A spokesman for the First Minister later confirmed that the Dunlop review had been submitted to the Government yesterday.
He was unable to say when it will be published as it must go through ‘a process of checks’ around data protection and other legal points.
‘Haunted for the rest of my life’