An SNP employee who accused two nationalist MPs of sexual harassment is considering reporting the party’s Westminster leader to Commons authorities over his handling of the allegations.
It emerged yesterday that Westminster authorities have upheld complaints against Patrick Grady and Patricia Gibson. The pair have been asked to respond as part of an appeals process, in which an expert panel could rule on the findings if either MP contests the decisions by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
The party employee who made the complaint is also weighing up the possibility of complaining to the scheme about how Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, handled the complaint against Grady, The Times understands.
Concerns about the then chief whip were brought to the attention of the SNP by a colleague of the man at around the time when the MeToo scandal hit Westminster at the end of 2017.
The staff member was then called to a meeting with an apparently tearful Grady and Blackford in the leader’s office. According to the complainant, Grady was in tears and apologised during what felt like an “ambush”. The SNP has said his version of this meeting is inaccurate.
In an email to senior party members and employees, which was reported last month by The Times, the worker accused Blackford of being “unfit to oversee staff”. He has until the end of the month to make a decision about submitting any complaint to comply with ICGS timescales.
The Sunday Times reported that Grady, who resigned from the front bench after the allegations against him became public, and Gibson, who was promoted to become housing spokeswoman after being named as having a complaint against her, have received the findings of the independent investigation and have been asked to respond.
Grady, MP for Glasgow North, stood aside from his role in March last year after claims emerged that he had groped two male researchers at an SNP Christmas party in 2016. It was also claimed that Grady, 42, “inappropriately” touched an SNP staff member, then aged 19, in a London pub. At the time he stood down, it emerged that the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon had been aware of “a concern” about Grady before a harassment complaint was made against him. The party said concerns were raised in 2018 but that no complaint had been made at that point and the matter was dealt with “informally”.
Gibson, the MP for North Ayrshire & Arran, was accused of making inappropriate comments to a male member of staff in Westminster’s Strangers’ Bar in January 2020. She has previously said that the claims are “malicious allegations” without any foundation.
Wendy Chamberlain, the Scottish Liberal Democrat chief whip, said: “Given that there has been an interim finding of misconduct, these MPs should now be suspended while the full process concludes. The SNP have been vocal about misconduct on the Conservative benches, they should recognise that the same standards they demand of others ought to apply to them as well.”
The independent expert panel can recommend suspension or expulsion from the House of Commons. The SNP will have to decide separately whether to take any disciplinary action.
The ICGS said it did not comment on individual cases. Neither Grady nor Gibson responded to a request for comment. The SNP said: “It would not be legally appropriate to comment while the independent parliamentary process is ongoing.”
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An SNP employee who accused two nationalist MPs of sexual harassment is considering reporting the party’s Westminster leader to Commons authorities over his handling of the allegations.
It emerged yesterday that Westminster authorities have upheld complaints against Patrick Grady and Patricia Gibson. The pair have been asked to respond as part of an appeals process, in which an expert panel could rule on the findings if either MP contests the decisions by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).
The party employee who made the complaint is also weighing up the possibility of complaining to the scheme about how Ian Blackford, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, handled the complaint against Grady, The Times understands.
Concerns about the then chief whip were brought to the attention of the SNP by a colleague of the man at around the time when the MeToo scandal hit Westminster at the end of 2017.
The staff member was then called to a meeting with an apparently tearful Grady and Blackford in the leader’s office. According to the complainant, Grady was in tears and apologised during what felt like an “ambush”. The SNP has said his version of this meeting is inaccurate.
In an email to senior party members and employees, which was reported last month by The Times, the worker accused Blackford of being “unfit to oversee staff”. He has until the end of the month to make a decision about submitting any complaint to comply with ICGS timescales.
The Sunday Times reported that Grady, who resigned from the front bench after the allegations against him became public, and Gibson, who was promoted to become housing spokeswoman after being named as having a complaint against her, have received the findings of the independent investigation and have been asked to respond.
Grady, MP for Glasgow North, stood aside from his role in March last year after claims emerged that he had groped two male researchers at an SNP Christmas party in 2016. It was also claimed that Grady, 42, “inappropriately” touched an SNP staff member, then aged 19, in a London pub. At the time he stood down, it emerged that the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon had been aware of “a concern” about Grady before a harassment complaint was made against him. The party said concerns were raised in 2018 but that no complaint had been made at that point and the matter was dealt with “informally”.
Gibson, the MP for North Ayrshire & Arran, was accused of making inappropriate comments to a male member of staff in Westminster’s Strangers’ Bar in January 2020. She has previously said that the claims are “malicious allegations” without any foundation.
Wendy Chamberlain, the Scottish Liberal Democrat chief whip, said: “Given that there has been an interim finding of misconduct, these MPs should now be suspended while the full process concludes. The SNP have been vocal about misconduct on the Conservative benches, they should recognise that the same standards they demand of others ought to apply to them as well.”
The independent expert panel can recommend suspension or expulsion from the House of Commons. The SNP will have to decide separately whether to take any disciplinary action.
The ICGS said it did not comment on individual cases. Neither Grady nor Gibson responded to a request for comment. The SNP said: “It would not be legally appropriate to comment while the independent parliamentary process is ongoing.”