SNP minister resigns after ‘physically assaulting’ Tory

An SNP minister who was accused of assaulting the former Scottish Conservative leader has resigned.

Jamie Hepburn, the minister for parliamentary business and an influential figure within the party, allegedly grabbed Douglas Ross by the shoulderbefore launching into a foul-mouthed tirade.

The altercation occurred as the pair made their way out of the Scottish Parliament chamber following a row over gulls on Wednesday night.

The SNP initially stood by the minister, with a senior Scottish government source saying Mr Hepburn would not be dismissed.

But on Friday, Mr Hepburn resigned from the Scottish Government, saying he did not want to become a “distraction”.

In the letter, the SNP MSP admitted that irrespective of whether or not he broke the ministerial code, he did not act within “[his] own” code of practice.

He said: “I do not want to cause any distraction for you or the Government, or indeed to that of the primary position of responsibility I have as the constituency representative for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth.

“I believe my continued presence as one of your ministers would do so. In such circumstances,. I believe it is best that I stand down with immediate effect.”

He added it was a “source of regret” that his 11 years as a minister had ended because of the incident with Mr Ross.

Mr Hepburn’s resignation came hours after Mr Ross made a formal complaint urging the First Minister to consider sacking Mr Hepburn over the incident.

The row started after Mr Ross dismissed the Scottish Government’s proposed plans to tackle dangerous gulls as a “sham” in a heated debate on Wednesday night.

The MSP had been calling on ministers to tackle the issue after an elderly woman broke her leg during an attack earlier this year.

However, he criticised a proposed summit looking into the issue for shutting out the public and media.

Filibustering accusation

Mr Ross was allotted five minutes to speak on the topic before a major vote on legal reform but his speech went on for eight minutes in total.

He was accused of using the speech to “delay” the landmark vote on abolishing the arcane “not proven” verdict used in Scotland’s courts.

The “not proven” outcome, which MSPs voted to abolish on Wednesday night, amounts to the same as a “not guilty” verdict but has been criticised for being insufficiently clear.

Mr Ross raised the assault allegation in a dramatic intervention at the end of Thursday’s session of First Minister’s Questions.

He called on Mr Swinney to make a statement about the incident and reiterate his zero-tolerance approach to threatening and intimidating behaviour by his ministers.

Following the incident, Mr Hepburn admitted to using “some words I shouldn’t have done” but insisted: “I put my hand on his shoulder. There was no force at all.”

There is no CCTV footage of the incident, but a Scottish Labour source told the Daily Record that one of their party’s MSPs had witnessed “screaming and shouting” between the two politicians.

Mr Ross consulted the police about the incident but no formal complaint was made.

Swinney ‘too slow to act’

In a letter to the First Minister sent on Friday morning, Mr Ross accused Mr Hepburn of breaching the ministerial code.

He said: “If he is allowed by the First Minister to remain in a position of power, then I am concerned what this might mean in future for colleagues who could be exposed to the behaviour I was subjected to.”

The Scottish ministerial code states: “Ministers should be professional in all their dealings and treat all those with whom they come into contact with consideration and respect.

“Working relationships, including with civil servants, ministerial and parliamentary colleagues and parliamentary staff should be proper and appropriate.

“Harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour, wherever it takes place, is not consistent with the ministerial code and will not be tolerated.”

Mr Ross said he welcomed the resignation but criticised the SNP for initially backing the minister in the wake of the incident.

He said: “This is the correct decision and I also appreciate Jamie Hepburn reaching out following his resignation to personally apologise to me for his behaviour.

“However, this issue should have been settled yesterday when the First Minister was made aware of the full facts.

“Jamie Hepburn admitted behaviour that fell well short of that expected of ministers. Instead, John Swinney backed him and the Nationalists were determined to ride this out and endorse that behaviour until I called for the situation to be investigated by the Independent Advisers on the Ministerial Code.”

[Source: Daily Telegraph]