Douglas Ross says he fears for his colleagues after SNP minister Jamie Hepburn 'bullying' incident
The former Scottish Conservative leader has lodged a formal complaint with First Minister John Swinney.
Douglas Ross has accused SNP minister Jamie Hepburn of bullying and says he fears for his colleagues’ safety following an alleged assault in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Ross has written to First Minister John Swinney to lodge a formal complaint against the parliamentary business minister after accusing Mr Hepburn of physically assaulting and verbally abusing him.
The former Scottish Conservative leader alleges the incident happened as MSPs left the debating chamber on Wednesday. Mr Ross has since called for Mr Hepburn to be sacked and has spoken to parliamentary police about the altercation.
The Tory MSP has now written to Mr Swinney to officially lodge a formal complaint against Mr Hepburn, and has asked the First Minister to refer the matter to independent advisors on the ministerial code.
In his letter, Mr Ross sets out four parts of the ministerial code he claims Mr Hepburn has breached, and said: “Aggressively grabbing a fellow MSP, raising one’s voice in anger, and using foul and abusive language falls well below the standards set out in these provisions.
“This amounts to bullying behaviour and, in my view, is a clear breach of the ministerial code.
“I fear for other colleagues who may be exposed to this behaviour if Mr Hepburn continues in his position of power within your government.”
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Mr Hepburn said: “I put my hand on his shoulder, probably used a few choice words I shouldn’t have. That’s it.”
A Scottish Government source said “there is no way [Mr Ross] was hurt”. The source said “there are a lot of witnesses who would vouch there was no physical assault”. The Scottish Parliament has since confirmed there is no CCTV footage of the alleged incident.
Speaking on Friday, Mr Ross said: “The public deserve to have ministers in place that will uphold the standards expected of them. By any measure, the SNP’s minister for parliamentary business did not do that earlier this week and he has accepted this.
“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.”
Under the rules, ministers are “expected to maintain high standards of behaviour”, not engage in “poor behaviour” and “harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour”, the code says, “will not be tolerated”.
Under new rules around the ministerial code brought in by Mr Swinney last year, advisers – who are appointed to look into breaches – can unilaterally decide to launch an investigation without being instructed by the First Minister.
A Police Scotland spokesman said of the incident involving Mr Hepburn: “Officers have spoken with Mr Ross. No complaint has been made and suitable advice was given.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: “The Parliament takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and harassment and any allegations of criminality should be reported directly to the police.
“As the presiding officer said in the chamber, this is a very serious allegation and it is important that it is dealt with through the appropriate processes. Where anyone considers that the conduct of a member hasn’t met the terms of the code of conduct, a complaint can be made to the commissioner for ethical standards in public life in Scotland.
“Complaints about the conduct of a member arising from their ministerial duties are dealt with under the Scottish ministerial code and are a matter for the First Minister. The Parliament has provided the member with advice on these avenues.”
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