SNP suspends Mark McDonald after 'new information' emerges

The SNP has suspended Mark McDonald, the former Scottish government minister who resigned his cabinet post two weeks ago after admitting “inappropriate” behaviour towards women, saying it has received new information.

McDonald resigned his cabinet position for childcare and early years on 4 November after apologising “unreservedly” for sending an unspecified number of “inappropriate” messages and admitting that his behaviour had caused a woman considerable distress. But he stated it was his intention to continue his work as MSP for Aberdeen Donside.

Announcing his suspension from both the parliamentary group and the party on Thursday afternoon, an SNP spokesperson said: “Following new information being received by the SNP over the course of the last 24 hours relating to the behaviour of Mark McDonald, he has been suspended from both the parliamentary group and the party while further investigation takes place. In the interests of due process and appropriate confidentiality no further comment will be made.”

This week, the MSP made his first public comments since his resignation. Writing in the Aberdeen Press and Journal on Monday, McDonald said he was seeking support to help him to change his behaviour.

“For my apology to mean anything, I must also commit to changing my behaviour and to taking more care in my actions and my language. I am determined to do that,” he said.

“I have been offered support through the SNP to help me understand more about the way I behaved, the impact it had upon others and how I can work to ensure my behaviour does change. I have accepted that offer of support.”

McDonald’s decision to stay on as an MSP was supported by the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon. She suggested days after his resignation as a minister that McDonald had done the right thing but that “some others may well have thought [his behaviour] was not serious enough to resign”.

At the time, one of Scotland’s most prominent women’s organisations, Engender, raised concerns that Sturgeon was downplaying the accusations.

Allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct have emerged across the political spectrum at Holyrood. Earlier on Thursday, Scottish Labour was accused of failing to act over reports about MSP Alex Rowley, after it emerged that the party was made aware of claims made against him five weeks ago.

The party suspended Rowley on Wednesday evening. He had already stepped aside as interim leader earlier that day after a former partner accused him of stalking and harassment following the breakdown of their relationship.

The claims, which appeared in Wednesday’s Scottish Sun, included the allegation that the MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife had sent a series of abusive text messages to the woman, who described him as “a ruthless bully” who had harassed her for three years following the end of their relationship.

The woman said she had told police about the alleged behaviour, and that, after an investigation, no further action had been taken. Police Scotland has since apologised to her for the way her complaint was handled.

Rowley denies the claims, and has insisted he will “take all steps” to clear his name.

It has now emerged that journalists contacted Scottish Labour about the allegations on 10 October, five weeks before they eventually appeared in print, but received letters from lawyers acting on behalf of Rowley which warned against publication.

Later on Thursday, Scottish Labour continued to insist that the party had insufficient information or evidence to warrant an investigation of Rowley at that time, revealing that the MSP did not disclose to them that he had had contact with the police about the matter.

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “At no point did the Labour party receive a formal complaint regarding Alex Rowley. The party was approached by newspapers with unsubstantiated claims, with no evidence shared with the Labour party prior to publication in the Sun newspaper.

“Whilst 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. [Mr Rowley] did not disclose to the party police contact on 10 October 2017.

“Since the allegations were published, Labour in Holyrood has removed the whip from Mr Rowley, suspending him from the Scottish Labour parliamentary group. It is important that this process is fair and transparent.”