THE SNP have urged Anas Sarwar to provide a “complete account” of his knowledge of the allegations made against a former Labour council leader.
On Monday, councillor Cammy Day resigned from his post as leader of City of Edinburgh Council after he was accused of sending sexual messages to Ukrainian refugees.
He was suspended from Labour on Sunday, after two Ukrainians told the Sunday Mail they had felt “under pressure” and unable to ignore the messages, adding that they had tried to ignore hints about sex and meeting up.
Now, the SNP have asked whether the Scottish Labour leader knew of the nature of the allegations before they became public knowledge.
Gordon MacDonald, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, said “significant questions” were being raised around whether Sarwar was first made aware of the allegations on December 7, as he claimed on the BBC’s Sunday Show.
Reports in The Times on Friday suggest that Day was already under police investigation for “inappropriate behaviour”, and that Scottish Labour had declined to comment when approached at that time.
Writing to Sarwar on Monday, MacDonald said: “Dear Anas,
“I write seeking clarity on your involvement in the ongoing investigation regarding Cllr Cammy Day.
“Firstly, I want to put on record that my thoughts are with those individuals who have come forward.
“There is significant public interest in this situation and questions about your involvement in this matter remain unclear after your comments at the weekend. The public deserves a complete account of events, including when the Labour Party became aware.”
MacDonald pointed out that a statement from Police Scotland confirmed the force was first made aware of these allegations on October 22, six weeks before Sarwar said he was made aware.
He added that there was therefore “understandable doubt” about Sarwar’s claims of when he became aware of the situation.
He asked Sarwar to answer the following questions:
- When exactly did you first learn about accusations regarding Cllr Day's behaviour?
- When were you made aware that the police were looking into the conduct of Cllr Day
- If your claim is to be believed that you first heard about these accusations on Saturday 7th December, who in the Scottish Labour leadership team was aware of these allegations, prior to you?
- Why were you not aware of the issue after the Times report on Friday 6th December when the Labour Party was contacted?
Although Day has resigned as council leader, he remains a councillor.
In a statement, he said that “recent commentary on my personal life is detracting from the important work this Labour-led council does”.
He added: “I have yet to be contacted by the police but want to reiterate that I will cooperate fully with their ongoing enquiries.”
The National understands that Scottish Labour was made aware of the police investigation on Friday by The Times, but was not provided with any details.
Further, both the party and Sarwar were made aware of the specific allegations against Day on Saturday, at which point he was suspended pending investigation.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: "The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously.
"They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”
