PATRICK Grady has had the SNP whip restored at Westminster.
The Glasgow North MP had quit the party in June amid a police investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
The police probe was dropped in July, however an independent investigation had already found Grady had behaved inappropriately towards a member of staff at a party function in 2016. The victim was a teenager at the time.
The MP was given a two-day suspension from the Commons on June 14.
The Times reports that Martin Docherty-Hughes, the SNP’s new chief whip at Westminster, said in an email to the group’s other MPs on Thursday that the six-month suspension of party membership imposed on Grady had lapsed.
The whip wrote: “This six-month suspension was backdated to the point at which Patrick’s membership was placed in administrative suspension — and this six-month period has now lapsed.
“Patrick Grady MP has therefore had his membership of the SNP reinstated and, as such, he has regained the SNP Westminster group whip.”
The scandal around Grady's behaviour engulfed the wider SNP group after a leaked recording of his party colleagues at Westminster in which they offered their support to the Glasgow North MP.
Westminster group leader Ian Blackford faced calls to resign after he said he looked forward to bringing Grady back into the fold and asked other party MPs to support him.
When Blackford quit the role of group leader speculation was rife that his handling of the Grady affair had led to unrest amongst SNP MPs.
The complainer has repeatedly hit out at the SNP over its handling of the issue, saying his life has been made a “living hell” and raising the possibility of legal action.
Questioned on the issue by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross at First Minister’s Questions in June, Nicola Sturgeon said the situation was "utterly unacceptable".
She told MSPs: “What I have heard suggests that more concern was shown for the perpetrator of this behaviour than the victim of it.
“I think that is utterly unacceptable and that is something I will be very clear about.”
