THE victim of sexual harassment at the hands of Patrick Grady has said the Tories have handled their own scandals better than the SNP.
The SNP staffer, who has spoken with the media on the condition of anonymity, has said he thinks his case would have been handled better if it had happened within the scandal-plagued Conservative Party rather than the SNP.
He told the Daily Mail he feared assisting a police investigation into the Glasgow North MP's conduct would create an “intolerable” working environment but said he did not want to think Grady, who was found by a parliament investigation to have stroked the neck, hair and face of the SNP staffer, had been “exonerated”.
The former party whip previously said he was “profoundly sorry” over his actions and then resigned his party membership after police launched an investigation into the incident in a London pub in 2016.
Grady’s victim claimed the party has taken a softer approach than the Tories, who belatedly withdrew the whip from MP Chris Pincher last week following accusations that he drunkenly groped two men at a private club in London.
Evidence has since emerged that historic concerns about Pincher’s alleged conduct were well known within Westminster and the Conservative Party.
The victim said: “The SNP has been very quiet on the Pincher stuff – in normal times they would have been calling for his resignation.
“The Conservatives have put the SNP to shame with how they have handled Pincher.”
He claimed he would be “more protected” as a Tory staff member than he is as an SNP worker.
“[The Conservatives] have taken effective action, kicked him out of his job, removed the whip, and it is now up to the independent complaints and grievance scheme to investigate,” he said.
He added: “What the SNP has done with Patrick is totally different in that he kept the whip for the entire time, they kept him in the position of power and then isolated the victim and removed me from the equation.”
The SNP staff member criticised the party’s handling of the complaint. He told the paper: “As things stand, I don’t have to give Patrick any service as an MP.
“But if he is allowed back in at any moment that he decides, I’m not going to get fair warning of that – he could just turn up as an SNP MP if I go back to work.
“It is concerning because it is all in his hands now if he wants to come back.
“The SNP seem to have absolved any responsibility now, which, as an employer, is concerning.
“It wasn’t me that even reported this to police. I don’t know who did. I never wanted to take this route but now that it has, he suspended his own membership.”
“I decided for it not to be investigated [by police] for fear it would impact on an already intolerable working environment,” he added.
And he said the SNP are sending the “wrong message” by letting Grady decide if he would like to reinstate his party membership.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “On Wednesday June 22 police received a third party allegation of sexual assault that is said to have taken place in October 2016 at a commercial premises in Folgate Street, E1.
“Officers carried out inquiries including speaking to the alleged victim.
“There will be no further police action at this time.”
The SNP has said it would be up to Grady to decide his “intentions” on returning to the party as he “currently sits as an independent MP”.
