Nicola Sturgeon has said she will not “shy away” from taking action against party figures found of misconduct.
The First Minister made the comment after being asked about the case of SNP MP Patrick Grady, who has reportedly had a sexual harassment complaint upheld against him.
As revealed by the Record, an SNP staffer accused a party MP of pestering him in a London bar in 2016.
Grady stood aside as SNP chief whip after the claims emerged and the staffer complained to Westminster’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Service (ICGS).
It was reported recently that the ICGS had upheld a complaint of sexual harassment and the matter referred to an independent panel.
Asked on Sky’s ‘Sophy Ridge on Sunday’ programme about whether a complaint had been upheld against Grady, Sturgeon said: “I don't know. I've seen what has been reported, as I understand it the process is underway. I have not seen any findings. And I'm not trying to dodge this. It's important that the process is allowed to proceed.
“When I do know whether...finally things have been upheld, I'm happy to come on and talk to you about that. And I'm happy to be open about what I think should happen in those circumstances.”
She added: “But what I will say is I think parties cannot simply throw stones when it's people in other parties who have been found guilty of these things. We all have to apply these standards to ourselves and I will not shy away from that when I do know what the outcome of these processes are."
She was also about a suspension while investigations are ongoing.
She replied: “It's really important when things conclude in a particular way for parties to take responsibility for that and act appropriately. In this case, though, the process is ongoing.
“I don't know what, if anything, has been upheld, and I'm going to wait for that process to conclude and then I'm happy to come back on your programme and talk about it in detail at that point.”
The Record revealed at the weekend that Grady, despite the ICGS finding, has been given an SNP speaking slot for the Queen’s Speech next month.
A document circulated to SNP MPs shows party Westminster leader Ian Blackford is listed as leading his party’s response, with “PatGrad” following him.
Another section of the document confirms “PatGrad” is a reference to Grady.
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