Cross-party criticism for Labour MSP accused of 'victim blaming' over harassment scandal

Daniel Johnson posed the question to members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) following reports of misconduct and after it was announced four calls had been made to a hotline set up in Holyrood on Monday.

“If we are to tackle this culture that has given rise to these incidences we must question what role alcohol has played and by extension the policies of parliament with regard to it,” he said.

The Edinburgh MSP – who is a member of a committee which is about to hold an inquiry into the culture of Holyrood and how women are represented and treated there – said alcohol is not an excuse for harassment, but added that he had been told people thought it “odd” for the parliament to have a bar “in what is meant to be a place of work”.

His comments were swiftly criticised by his own party and MSPs from other parties.

The SNP’s Clare Haughey said: “I am deeply concerned that a question such as that asked by Daniel Johnson may give the impression that in some way women should avoid these settings in order to protect themselves.

“Indeed in the worst case scenario this could be viewed in some way as victim blaming.”

Labour’s Monica Lennon said bringing in the role of alcohol was a “distraction”, while her party colleague Claudia Beamish said “alcohol is not the issue, abuse of power is”.

Ruth Maguire, SNP, said: “Alcohol does not cause sexual harassment but is often used as a self-justification for perpetrators.”

SPCB member Jackson Carlaw said Holyrood has only one bar open in the evening and it is an “asset” to parliament and was used “responsibly”.

He said: “Alcohol is not an excuse and should not be used as evidence of a reason why people might excuse behaviour which is totally unacceptable.”

He said an anonymised survey to be carried out into the extent of sexual harassment at Holyrood would allow people to raise alcohol provision if it was a concern.

The questions were put to the corporate body as the Scottish Parliament announced four calls had been made to its sexual harassment hotline which opened on Monday.

The helpline was opened for staff and anyone working at Holyrood to report concerns or complaints of sexual harassment.

It follows the scandal engulfing Westminster and the Scottish Parliament, which has led to the resignation of a Scottish Government minister.

Mark McDonald resigned as childcare minister after complaints about alleged inappropriate conduct and has been replaced with Maree Todd.

As the Scottish Parliament seeks to deal with growing concerns about sexual harassment, a Holyrood committee yesterday announced it is to launch an inquiry into the procedures and rules governing complaints of sexual harassment.

MSPs on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee agreed to look at the processes for dealing with allegations of sleaze and sexual misconduct and also the culture surrounding Holyrood.

As part of the work the committee will also examine the MSP code of conduct following a request from the parliament’s presiding officer Ken Macintosh.

Johnson said the issue was “of huge importance both to the parliament and to wider politics and public life in Scotland”.

He said: “It’s vital that people who are victims of the incidents that we’ve heard of in recent weeks have a safe space and feel confident in coming forward and there is a process that those people feel that they can have confidence in and their reports will be taken seriously.

“This committee needs to stand ready to deal with any such issues and complaints seriously and use the full range of powers we have available to us.”

He said the committee, which consists of two female and five male MSPs, should also consider its own gender composition.

Tory MSP Alexander Stewart said: “I think it’s vitally important that we do have an inquiry.

“We have to show strength, we have to show confidence within the parliament ourselves and this committee has a role to play within that process so that we can give that impression to those individuals out there who have concerns and want to see the best is being done to protect individuals and give them the opportunity to come forward.”

Speaking after the committee meeting, convener Clare Adamson said: “Our committee is agreed that we need to take stock of our culture, processes and rules and to ensure that there is clarity around these.

“Our inquiry will want to hear from equalities groups in Scotland, employment law experts and also from trade unions.

“It is important we also look to other legislatures with experience in this regard such as Iceland.

“The committee will want to consider carefully the precise remit of the inquiry and the witnesses it wants to hear from.”

Meanwhile, in another development at Holyrood, a male MSP yesterday quit its governing body after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared it “unacceptable” that there were no women members.

Gordon Macdonald, who is an SNP backbencher, is to stand down from the SPCB – with party bosses confirming that his place will be filled by a female MSP.

The SPCB makes decisions on a range of issues concerned with the running of Holyrood, including how the Parliament’s budget is allocated, staffing and security.

It has faced questions in the wake of the allegations of sexual misconduct with several female MSPs asking what action it is taking to deal with the problem.

Sturgeon said: “I think the situation with the Parliament’s Corporate Body, where there are no women represented on it, is unacceptable and will have to be addressed and resolved by this Parliament.”

She pointed out MSPs will shortly consider new legislation which will require public bodies to ensure women make up half of their board members, and added that the Parliament “has a duty to lead by example”.

Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman also said he would stand down from the SPCB after Holyrood had “agreed to a mechanism for appointing a more gender-balanced Corporate Body”.

The Lothian MSP, who is likely to be replaced by Alison Johnstone, said he was taking action because he believed “the structures of our Parliament should be representative of the public we seek to serve”.