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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Paul Hutcheon

Senior SNP MP says any colleague guilty of sexual misconduct should be kicked out of party

A senior SNP MP has insisted that any colleague found guilty of sexual misconduct should be kicked out of the party.

Kirsty Blackman made the comment amid reports of sexual harassment complaints being upheld by two SNP MPs.

As revealed by the Record last year, an SNP staffer accused Glasgow North MP Patrick Grady and North Ayrshire and Arran member Patricia Gibson in separate incidents.

He alleged Grady touched him in the Water Poet pub in London in 2016 and accused Gibson of pestering him in the Strangers’ Bar in Westminster in 2020. She denies the claims

Grady stood aside as SNP chief whip when the allegations came out, while Gibson remains her party’s housing spokeswoman at Westminster.

The Sunday Times recently reported that complaints against the pair had been upheld by Westminster’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) and referred to an independent panel.

Speaking to the BBC, Blackman was asked about the Tory MP who is alleged to have watched porn in the Commons and she condemned the unnamed politician.

The Aberdeen North MP was also asked if any SNP MP found guilty of sexual misconduct should be kicked out of the party.

She responded: “Yes.”

Blackman, who used to be deputy leader of the SNP’s Westminster group, was also asked whether Gibson should keep her front bench job while the allegations are investigated.

She said: “I think we need to wait and see what comes out of the ICGS.”

“I think we need to see what comes out at the end of that process.”

On whether Gibson should be kicked out if she is found guilty, Blackman replied: “I don't think people that are found guilty of sexual misconduct should be in politics.”

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