Ian Blackford is under new pressure today to support Patrick Grady after an SNP MP apologized for speaking on behalf of the disgraced politician.
Over the weekend, there were calls for the party’s Westminster leader to step down after telling his group last week that they should give Mr Grady their “full support”.
In an expired recording of Mr Blackford’s meeting with the group, SNP MP Amy Callaghan and colleague Marion Fellows threw their weight behind Mr Grady.
At the beginning of the recording, Ms. Callahan told the group: “I think we need to unite together for this campaign, but also, regardless of our position on Patrick’s situation, we need to unite around him to support him and in this moment.
“I don’t think we are very good as a country in supporting each other and I think we need to make sure that he feels supported at the moment, so if we can all contact him or do it if we can. you feel able to probably do that. ”
As she spoke, some people could be heard saying, “Listen, listen,” while others began to applaud.
Later in the recording, Motherwell and Wishaw MP Ms Fellows was heard saying: “Patrick is not out of our minds and Patrick is getting support. Just because people don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I want that to be very clear. ”
But in a statement posted on Twitter this afternoon, Ms Callahan apologized for her comments, saying her support for Mr Grady’s victim, who was 19 at the time of the 2016 incident, was “implicit. “.
“This can and should only begin with a sincere apology to anyone – especially survivors of harassment – who has been injured or activated as a result of this week,” she wrote.
“I was very thoughtful and honest with myself. Although I cannot forgive myself for how inappropriate it was for me to formulate my contribution in this way, I owe an explanation to everyone, not least to the survivors and my constituents:
“I am sorry and in the end I take full responsibility for my words, no matter how callous, poorly worded and inappropriate.
“I take full responsibility for the injury and frustration I caused, not least to those directly affected by sexual misconduct in this case.
“Survivors must be supported. I had to anticipate my comments and repeat this throughout my contribution. I believed that I was in a situation where my support for the survivors was taken for granted.
“I was wrong. This is not good enough. My comments without this context absolutely justify the disorder they have. I’m really sorry.
“As a party, we are clearly failing to support the complainants. There must be support structures, first, predictable and unambiguous – for survivors of harassment. Zero tolerance cannot be a slogan, it must be real. ”
The MP confirmed that she wrote to the main whip of the group with a request for a “full review of roots and branches” from an independent organization that deals with illegal behavior and harassment structures.
In her statement today, Ms Callaghan went on to say that she was trying “at a basic human level” to provide “mental health, counseling or rehabilitation support for a colleague” to prevent a recurrence of “unacceptable incidents”.
She wrote: “I now see how empty and inappropriate the request was if the same offer of support had not been given to the complainant.”
She added: “I cannot approve of how this was presented by me. That was wrong, insensitive, and I’m deeply sorry. ”
In the leaked recording, Mr Blackford is heard saying: “I think most of you know how I feel about Patrick and I would encourage the group to give as much support as possible.
“And let’s look forward to next week, he will face a number of challenges in the short term and he has our full support.
“And on the one hand, I look forward to seeing Patrick back in the band next week.”
In its report published on Tuesday, the parliamentary oversight body, the Independent Expert Group, said that Mr Grady “under the influence of alcohol had made sexual progress towards the complainant with the mistaken belief that this progress would be welcomed”.
They also described in detail the “significant effects” of the harassment on the victim, including “significant psychological consequences leading to a medical commitment” and “significant subsequent physical effects on the applicant’s health”.
His report says: “His work and social life are severely affected, which significantly reduces the quality of both.
“He has been fired for medical reasons and is likely to lose his job for a significant period. He has doubts about whether he will be able to return to work in politics, which was his long-standing ambition.”
Both the Tories and Labor have called for Mr Blackford to resign. But he also faces criticism from the SNP.
Asked if Mr Blackford should leave, Angus Robertson, the Scottish Government’s constitutional secretary, told the BBC’s Scotland Sunday Show yesterday: “No, I don’t, and after talking to Ian Blackford in the past about this testing situation, I know he is very, very attentive to the person in question who has been treated inappropriately.
“There must be pastoral care for people in these circumstances.”
When it was stated that the man said he had not received this care, Mr Robertson said: “Well, I said that everyone should be able to get this and, you know, it would not be appropriate if it had not been offered to me. but I simply emphasize that these very difficult situations, when one has an independent process that looks at what is involved, on the one hand, on the one hand, absolutely, the victims must come first and the people who have been treated inappropriately must be maintained.
“But we had an independent process that decided to remove the MP in question in two days.
“It simply came to our notice then. He was also removed from the SNP group in Westminster.
“I think there is a broader question about when decisions are made that do not talk about end-of-career situations, if that is the conclusion, then there must be a way back for people, while supporting people who are were treated inappropriately.
“And for that reason, I don’t think Ian Blackford has to face the calls he has, especially from political parties that throw very big stones while sitting in glass houses.”
The committee’s report raised questions about how Mr Blackford handled the complaint.
Although the party is aware of the complaint, Mr Grady was allowed to remain in office as the SNP’s chief whip until March 2021, when The Herald first uncovered charges against him.
He was even allowed to speak at a Commons debate in 2019 on staff harassment.
In an interview with the Daily Record, the man criticized Mr Blackford: “I think Blackford owes all the staff an apology for their role in this. I’m not the only one affected by this.
“I think he owes an apology to all the staff and the group of MPs.
In his apology to the Commons, Mr Grady said he was “deeply sorry”.
He acknowledged that the case was “aggravated by the significant age and power mismatch between me and the complainant and further aggravated by my excessive alcohol consumption”.
Mr Grady said he had “learned significant lessons through the process” and insisted that “such behavior on my part will never happen again”.
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