A Scottish government minister has quit after being accused of assaulting and verbally abusing a former leader of the Tories in Scotland. MSP Douglas Ross made the allegation about parliamentary business minister Jamie Hepburn at the end of First Minister’s Questions (FMQs) on Thursday.
Mr Hepburn said in his resignation letter that he had «not acted in accordance with my own personal code of practice». He added: «There is no denying that my interaction with Douglas Ross fell well short of that standard.»
Responding to Mr Hepburn’s resignation, Mr Ross said: «This is the correct decision and I also appreciate Jamie Hepburn reaching out following his resignation to personally apologise to me for his behaviour. However, this issue should have been settled yesterday when the First Minister was made aware of the full facts. Jamie Hepburn admitted behaviour that fell well short of that expected of ministers. Instead, John Swinney backed him and the Nationalists were determined to ride this out and endorse that behaviour until I called for the situation to be investigated by the Independent Advisors on the Ministerial Code.»
Mr Ross claimed he had been «physically assaulted and verbally abused» by Mr Hepburn on Wednesday. «The minister grabbed me on the shoulder and held on to me all the way out of the chamber,» he said. «At the same time he was continually swearing at me and getting more and more aggressive. He just wouldn’t give up. He lost his temper in a big way and there is no way that behaviour can be tolerated in any workplace.»
Speaking to journalists, Mr Hepburn admitted that he put his hand on Mr Ross’ shoulder and «probably used a few choice words I shouldn’t have». He added: «That’s it.» When asked if he would apologise to Mr Ross, Mr Hepburn said he would «freely speak to him» if he wished. The Scottish parliament said there was no CCTV footage of the alleged incident.
Mr Hepburn said in his resignation letter that despite «whatever annoyance I felt at that particular moment», there was no excuse for his language. «I hope it is recognized on your part and others that this behavior was quite out of character on my part,» he said. He added that his continued presence as a minister in the Scottish Government would cause distraction and that, «in such circumstances I believe it is best that I stand down with immediate effect.» Mr Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, has held numerous roles within the Scottish government, and was most recently minister for independence from 2023 until 2024.
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