A staffer who accused SNP MP Patricia Gibson of sexual misconduct in a bar has said he is “heartbroken” the complaint was not upheld.
The man, who claimed Gibson had pestered him to “s***” her, blasted the Westminster authorities after it was found they had bungled their investigation into the claims.
His angry reaction came after it was revealed Gibson had been drunk at the time of the alleged incident and “unable confidently to recall” her exact words and actions.
READ MORE: SNP staff member called sex pest Patrick Grady's victim 'fantasist' with drink problem during probe
The staffer had alleged that two SNP MPs, Gibson and Patrick Grady, separately harassed him at different locations in London.
The Grady complaint was upheld last week following a probe by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) in the Commons.
The former SNP Chief Whip at Westminster was banned from the Commons for 48 hours - a sanction the victim said was lenient.
However, despite investigators initially upholding a complaint against Gibson, an appeal to an Independent Expert Panel overturned this decision.
The complainer had alleged that Gibson made unwelcome physical contact of a sexual nature, including stroking his arm and back through his clothes, in Westminster’s Stranger’s Bar.
He also accused her of asking him to “come home and s**** me”.
The complainer told the Record: “I am heartbroken that the ICGS, like the SNP, have let me, and other victims of harassment down.
“Following their weak sanction against Patrick Grady, they have now concluded that they did not investigate my complaints into Patricia Gibson in a fair way.
“Due to the ICGS failures in this case, justice has not been achieved, and an erosion of trust between staff and the Westminster watchdog will have caused confidence in the process to be at an all time low.
“There is nowhere left for staff like myself to turn to and have full confidence in the process, the ICGS have failed to investigate properly and the SNP have admitted their procedures are not fit for purpose and have ordered a review into that.
“I reported the incident with Patricia the very next day and to my line-manager Patrick Grady, who did nothing about it. Perhaps if the SNP had a Chief Whip at the time who hadn’t sexually harassed a staff member, the matter could have been dealt with properly.
“I have no doubt that a fair investigation that is conducted properly, would see my complaints be upheld. Unfortunately, due to the ICGS and SNP failures, that scenario is no longer possible.”
In finding in favour of Gibson, the IEP blamed the initial investigation: “The sub-panel have concluded that the investigator placed too much weight on the complainant’s perception that the touching was sexual.
"Had the investigator applied the test correctly, then she would have taken account of perceptions of all of the witnesses and may have come to a different conclusion.
“The sub-panel consider that the investigator’s failure to apply the appropriate test, when considering behaviour of a sexual nature, affected the decision made by the Commissioner.”
Gibson’s denial was also published in the IEP report: “The respondent denied, and continues to deny, the allegation. Her evidence was (in essence) that she was intoxicated, and therefore unable confidently to recall her exact words and actions.
“The respondent asserted, however, that she would not have stroked the complainant in the manner alleged and would never have used the word “shag”, nor would she have propositioned the complainant.”
A House of Commons spokesperson said: "This is the first case where an appeal has been successful. And while we are confident this shows the robustness of the process, all parts of the House Service involved with the ICGS are concerned that, in this instance, the investigation did not meet our high standards and we apologise for this.
"We are working together to learn from these mistakes and build on existing work to procure new investigators and train them better, and clarify the oversight arrangements between the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and the ICGS. We will report further on what we are doing this autumn in the ICGS annual report.
"Bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct have no place in Parliament. The ICGS is here for any member of the parliamentary community who needs it. We would urge people who need it to use it."
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