A disgraced former SNP Finance Secretary fled through a Holyrood basement after his first appearance in the Parliament in over two years.
Derek Mackay snuck out by a back door and refused to answer questions about bombarding a sixteen year old schoolboy with messages.
Mackay, who was tipped as a future First Minister, resigned on the day he was supposed to announce the Budget in 2020 after a tabloid newspaper revealed his behaviour.
He later benefited from over £100,000 in public money even though he never set foot in the Parliament again as an MSP.
Mackay returned to Holyrood today to answer questions on the ferries scandal because he was Transport Minister at a key moment in the controversy.
However, he dodged all questions from the media afterwards.
Despite leaving by a committee back room into the Holyrood basement that leads to the car park, he was quizzed on behaviour that was described as "grooming" by Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw.
He never said a word as he was asked about the scandal and whether he would like to apologise. He was also quizzed on how he could justify the public money he had received in salary and other add-ons.
One of the hundreds of messages he sent to the boy stated: “I think you are really cute.”
Mackay stood down as an MSP in 2021 and also quit the SNP.
