Overview
- Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone and chief executive David McGill told Jackie Baillie that two historic employment cases they reviewed involved no covert bugging devices and that they have no information on other such allegations.
- Reporting by The Scotsman, carried by Sky News and the Daily Record, alleges a male SNP staffer admitted during an HR process to planting recording devices in a female MSP’s office in late 2023 before moving to work for a male MP and remaining active in the party.
- John Swinney condemned the reported conduct as completely unacceptable and noted MSPs, not the SNP headquarters, directly employ parliamentary staff.
- Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie demanded an urgent Holyrood investigation into potential secret recordings and suggested police involvement if parliament will not act.
- The SNP denied that any party leader was aware of or handled the allegations and said it supports parliamentary authorities reviewing their processes to safeguard MSPs and staff.