Crisis? What crisis? The Mackay scandal won’t damage the SNP one little bit
THE deputy leader of the SNP has said it is “very difficult” to see how disgraced former finance secretary Derek Mackay can remain an MSP.
Keith Brown said politicians across Holyrood were shocked by Mr Mackay’s behaviour towards a 16-year-old schoolboy.
It came as Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard insisted Nicola Sturgeon should have sacked Mr Mackay, instead of allowing him to quit.
Mr Leonard has written to the First Minister demanding to know why she opted to let Mr Mackay resign from her Cabinet, rather than immediately dismissing him.
He said: “It is deeply concerning that such a senior member of this Parliament was not immediately dismissed upon admitting the allegations against him were true.
“The fact his behaviour was directed towards a teenage schoolboy should have been enough for the First Minister to take decisive and fast action. It is now vital the full circumstances leading to Derek Mackay’s resignation are revealed publicly.
“The contact Nicola Sturgeon had with Mr Mackay after she was made aware of the allegations should be shared immediately.”
More allegations against the former minister emerged over the weekend, including claims he “groped” a 21-year-old at an LGBT awards event. The Scottish Sun on Sunday reported that a witness saw Mr Mackay groping the man at Glasgow’s Proud Scotland Awards last June.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Mail revealed the shamed MSP hosted school pupils at an evening “meet and greet” in the same month he was bombarding a teenager with messages.
An honorary position Mr Mackay held within the Boys’ Brigade is also being reviewed.
Mr Mackay resigned as a minister and was suspended from the SNP last week after it emerged he sent 270 messages to a 16-year-old he had befriended on Facebook and Instagram.
The 42-year-old politician, who publicly admitted in 2013 he was gay, is reported to have told the youngster he was “really cute” and offered to take him to a rugby game and out to dinner.
The messages were published by the Scottish Sun on Thursday, just hours before Mr Mackay was due to deliver the £40 billion Draft Scottish Budget.
Speaking to the BBC’S Politics Scotland, Mr Brown said he had not had any contact with the former minister since the claims emerged.
Asked if Mr Mackay should continue as an MSP, he said: “I think it’s very difficult to see how he can continue, but it is his decision.”
Asked if he had ever had concerns about the former finance secretary, Mr Brown said: “No. I wasn’t aware of his text habits, if you like, and this communicating with people of that age – completely unaware of that and it came as a shock to people throughout the party. You could see the shock on people, right through not just the SNP but other parties as well.”
The revelations have led to renewed debate over whether Holyrood should change its rules to allow MSPS to be recalled and effectively sacked.
In Westminster, voters can trigger a recall process to remove an MP before the end of their term under certain circumstances.
Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-hamilton called for the law to be changed so all MSPS are required to go through the same background checks that someone working with children or vulnerable groups would have.
He plans to bring forward amendments to the Disclosure (Scotland) Bill when it is formally lodged, which would require elected politicians to be vetted by the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme.
Mr Cole-hamilton said the change was not being proposed in response to any single incident, adding he had been “exploring this proposal for months”.
He said: “It’s an important part of the job to engage with people of all ages so we can represent them and their views.
“Parents should know their children are in the presence of someone who can be trusted and has been checked up on. But those assurances simply don’t exist at the moment, and that’s wrong.
“I have always been conscious that with elected office comes a huge power imbalance. We know people can use their status to manipulate, target and exploit. People need protecting from that and this needs to be done through law.”
In his resignation statement, Mr Mackay said he had behaved “foolishly” and apologised unreservedly to the boy involved and his family.
Yesterday, the Sunday Times reprorted the teenager made a plea for full disclosure from the Scottish Government and the disgraced MSP about his behaviour.