Minister Jamie Hepburn has resigned after he was accused of physically assaulting the former leader of the Tories in Scotland Douglas Ross. Image: BBC
(The Post News) – A Scottish government minister, Jamie Hepburn, has resigned after he was accused of physically assaulting the former leader of the Tories in Scotland, Douglas Ross. According to Ross, the parliament minister grabbed him and swore aggressively as he left the Holyrood chamber on Wednesday. Hepburn said he put his hand on the former Scottish Tory leader’s shoulder and used some “choice words.”
Hepburn’s resignation came hours after Ross formally complained about the SNP MSP’s conduct in a letter to First Minister John Swinney. In his resignation letter, he wrote that irrespective of whether or not the Ministerial Code had been breached, even if there had been no complaint made, he believed he had not acted in accordance with his own personal code of practice. “This decision is one that I feel is for the best in these circumstances and the one that, for my own part, feels is the appropriate course of action.”
Swinney said he accepted Hepburn’s resignation with much personal regret. He added, “I know there will be no one more frustrated than you over this one slip in your normal approach of courtesy and respect to all.”
Ross made the allegation at the end of First Minister’s Questions on Thursday. After leaving the chamber, he told local reporters that Hepburn had grabbed him and sworn “in an aggressive manner” the day before. The Highlands and Islands MSP claimed security and other parliamentary staff witnessed the incident after the pair clashed over the scheduling of a summit to discuss out-of-control seagulls.
Ross asked for a formal investigation to be launched on whether Hepburn breached the ministerial code, saying his behavior had fallen well below the standards for ministers.
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