Does SNP want sex pest and his cheerleader in the party?

WITH every carcrash interview Ian Blackford does to try to stop the sex pest scandal engulfing the SNP, he makes matters look considerably worse for his party.

On Thursday the Nationalists’ Westminster leader subjected himself to an excoriating sit-down with broadcaster Bernard Ponsonby – his first words since the story broke nearly a week earlier.

Perhaps Mr Blackford thought he could put the issue to bed once and for all. Instead, his mealy-mouthed, evasive responses provoked more questions than answers.

He repeatedly failed to say whether it was acceptable for Patrick Grady, who was suspended after making unwanted sexual advances to a teenage staff member, to remain as an MP.

The former investment banker also claimed he didn’t take part in the disciplinary process, despite the victim confirming Blackford summoned him to a ‘resolution meeting’ with Grady.

The staffer said he felt ‘ambushed’ by the pair and under pressure to accept an apology. If Blackford thought he could make the issue go away, he was wrong – he simply added fuel to the fire.

But it’s not just the simple crofter, as he once foolishly described himself, who has questions to answer over this scandal. Nicola Sturgeon’s responses to the handling of the case by her Westminster colleagues beg more scrutiny. At First Minister’s questions this week the SNP leader described the comments made by Blackford at a group meeting where he encouraged his colleagues to support Grady as ‘utterly unacceptable’.

Yet just a few hours later, Miss Sturgeon, who has previously called for a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to allegations of sexual abuse in the Scottish parliament, said she had ‘confidence’ in him but that ‘there are questions here to be addressed’.

Which is it to be? Does the SNP want a sex pest MP and his cheerleader in the party or not?

It’s a tale that reeks of hypocrisy, dishonesty and cover-up. For all Nicola Sturgeon’s warm words and compassionate promises, the SNP only seem to care about the negative headlines a scandal like this provokes when it eventually gets out rather than the victims at the centre of it.

So, it makes perfect sense that their first priority was to try to silence the victim and give Patrick Grady, in Blackford’s own words, ‘as much support as possible’.

But this is where the wheels appear to have come off the SNP’s usually slick operation. The 19year-old that Grady targeted refused to be silent.

People in Scotland are not daft. They can see through the fact that Nicola Sturgeon’s promises don’t seem to be living up to reality.

Far from the zero-tolerance approach the First Minister wants to be known for, it’s becoming more and more clear that you can actually get away with quite a lot in the SNP, as long as it doesn’t tarnish the brand.

NICOLA Sturgeon will want to put a lid on this whole sorry situation as quickly as possible – yet she doesn’t seem to be able to. The First Minister’s spin machine can’t seem to get control of the situation and bring her MPs back into line. She has only managed to wring a measly half apology from her Westminster leader – which Grady’s victim has already dismissed as a ‘publicity stunt’ – and Patrick Grady has received only two days’ suspension as punishment.

What the Grady saga has revealed, once again, is the murky heart of the SNP – and thanks to the emerging split between the SNP in London and Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon has been unable to bury this scandal.

For the sake of Patrick Grady’s victim, she must urgently step in and ensure both Blackford and Grady face the consequences for their actions.