A senior Scottish National Party MP accused of sexual assault has left the party and will feel independent after metropolitan police said he was investigating the allegations.
The Met said it had received a complaint from a third party about the alleged sexual assault of Patrick Grady on a 19-year-old party worker at the Water Poet pub on Folgate Street, London, in October 2016.
On June 14, Grady was suspended from the Commons for two days after an independent group confirmed the worker’s allegations that the deputy made an unwanted sexual breakthrough. The panel found that Grady, who has apologized, had touched and stroked the teenager’s neck, hair and back.
The MP was also suspended by the SNP for a week, provoking widespread criticism of party leaders for seeming to downplay the seriousness of Grady’s conduct and failing to take more swift action to sanction him. The party worker first complained informally in 2018.
The controversy deepened after a recording emerged of Ian Blackford, Westminster leader of the SNP, who seemed to show that the party’s Westminster group was on Grady’s side. By apparent applause from other SNP MPs, Blackford urged Grady’s colleagues to gather around him “giving him as much support as possible.”
The victim of the alleged assault, who has not been named, was furious and accused the party of not maintaining its public claims that it had zero tolerance for inappropriate sexual conduct. He said his officials had set him aside and harassed him since he filed the complaint.
During a forceful questioning session by the Prime Minister last week, Nicola Sturgeon, the prime minister and leader of the SNP, was accused by opposition leaders of presiding over repeated lack of employee support and major inconsistencies. in the party’s management of cases of misconduct involving its deputies. MSP.
In a statement on Sunday, the Met said: “On Wednesday 22 June the police received a report of sexual assault which is said to have taken place in October 2016 at a commercial premises on Folgate Street, E1.
“The report was sent online by a third party. Officers will now conduct investigations, including contacting the alleged victim, to assess what additional action is needed.”
An SNP spokesman said: “Patrick Grady is moving away from his party while the police investigation continues.” It is not yet clear if he volunteered to stand by.
The Sunday Mail said the police report was made by another House of Commons employee. The Sunday Times reported that Grady was being pressured to resign as a Glasgow North MP ahead of the next general election, to avoid losing the Labor seat. He won the seat in 2019 with a majority of 5,601 votes.
Blackford announced an external review of the Westminster group’s actions as it tried to quell the growing unrest. The SNP is also pushing for new rules through its national executive committee to handle internal harassment complaints, and party activists plan to table motions at the SNP conference calling for clearer sanctions against the perpetrators.