Scottish finance secretary Derek Mackay has announced his resignation just hours before he was due to present the Scottish government’s budget for the next financial year following allegations he sent hundreds of messages to a teenage boy.
Mr Mackay, 42, was considered a rising star of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and was tipped as a possible successor to first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
But in a spectacular fall from grace, Mr Mackay was forced to quit on Thursday after The Scottish Sun published a report alleging he “pestered” a 16-year-old boy with 270 online messages.
He first entered politics at just 16 years of age, when he joined the SNP and served as National Covener from 1998 to 2002.
At the age of 21, he was elected as a councillor in Renfrewshire in 1999, making him the youngest male councillor in Scotland.
He went on to become the leader of Renfrewshire Council’s SNP group, and took them from opposition to leading the administration for the first time in 2007.
Eventually, Mr Mackay became the SNP group leader in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) from 2009 to 2011.
In 2011, he was elected to Holyrood as MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, and was appointed minister for local government and planning to replace MSP Aileen Campbell in a Scottish cabinet reshuffle.
In the same year, Mr Mackay was also placed on the Finance Committee and appointed SNP’s Business Covener and Parliamentary Liaison Officer to MSP Bruce Crawford.
As Business Covener, Mr Mackay was responsible for chairing SNP’s Party Conference and the National Executive Committee. The role also required him to oversee party management and administration of election campaigns.
Three years later, he was appointed transport minister in 2014 after Nicola Sturgeon became first minister.
He was further promoted to the Cabinet as Finance and Economy Secretary in the 20167 Scottish election. In this role, he was responsible for introducing new Scottish income tax rates, which includes a new ‘starter rate’ set at 19p for lower earners.
Mr Mackay was previously married and had two children with his then-wife, but came out as gay in 2013 when he left her.
In the texts published by The Scottish Sun, Mr Mackay allegedly told the teen he was “really cute” and repeatedly attempted to engage him in conversation.
In a statement on Thursday, he said: “I take full responsibility for my actions. I have behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry. I apologise unreservedly to the individual involved and his family.
“I spoke last night with the first minister and tendered my resignation with immediate effect. Serving in government has been a huge privilege and I am sorry to have let colleagues and supporters down.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “Derek has taken full responsibility for his actions and apologises unreservedly for them to the individual involved and to those he has let down. He has submitted his resignation as a government minister, which I have accepted.
“Derek has made a significant contribution to government. However, he recognises that his behaviour has failed to meet the standards required.”
