A Scottish authorities minister has give up after being accused of assaulting and verbally abusing a former chief of the Tories in Scotland.
MSP Douglas Ross made the allegation about parliamentary enterprise minister Jamie Hepburn on the finish of First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) on Thursday.
Mr Hepburn stated in his resignation letter that he had “not acted in accordance with my own personal code of practice”.
He added: “There is no denying that my interaction with Douglas Ross fell well short of that standard.”
Picture:
Jamie Hepburn(c) Minister for Independence listens to First Minister Humza Yousaf ship a speech on the Scottish economic system and independence,
Responding to Mr Hepburn’s resignation, Mr Ross stated: “That is the proper determination and I additionally recognize Jamie Hepburn reaching out following his resignation to personally apologise to me for his behaviour.
“However, this issue should have been settled yesterday when the First Minister was made aware of the full facts.
“Jamie Hepburn admitted behaviour that fell properly wanting that anticipated of ministers. As a substitute, John Swinney backed him and the Nationalists had been decided to journey this out and endorse that behaviour till I referred to as for the state of affairs to be investigated by the Unbiased Advisors on the Ministerial Code.”
Mr Ross claimed he had been “physically assaulted and verbally abused” by Mr Hepburn on Wednesday.
“The minister grabbed me on the shoulder and held on to me all the way out of the chamber,” he stated.
“At the same time he was continually swearing at me and getting more and more aggressive. He just wouldn’t give up.
“He misplaced his mood in a giant approach and there’s no approach that behaviour could be tolerated in any office.”
Picture:
Conservative MSP Douglas Ross chatting with the media on the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh, the place he has accused a Scottish Gover
Talking to journalists, Mr Hepburn admitted that he put his hand on Mr Ross’ shoulder and “probably used a few choice words I shouldn’t have”.
He added: “That’s it.”
When requested if he would apologise to Mr Ross, Mr Hepburn stated he would “freely speak to him” if he wished.
The Scottish parliament stated there was no CCTV footage of the alleged incident.
Picture:
SNP Parliamentary Enterprise Minister Jamie Hepburn (rt) alongside Colin McAllister.
Pic: PA
‘Fairly out of character’
Mr Hepburn stated in his resignation later that regardless of “whatever annoyance I felt at that particular moment”, there was no excuse for his language.
“I hope it is recognised on your part and others that this behaviour was quite out of character on my part,” he stated.
He added that his continued presence as a minister within the Scottish Authorities would trigger distraction and that, “in such circumstances I believe it is best that I stand down with immediate effect”.
Mr Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, has held quite a few roles throughout the Scottish authorities, and was most just lately minister for independence from 2023 till 2024.
