Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Anger as disgraced Aberdeen MSP in line for £7,000 “golden goodbye”

Mark McDonald
Mark McDonald

Demands for reform were made yesterday after it emerged that disgraced Aberdeen MSP Mark McDonald was in line for a “golden goodbye” payment of more than £7,000.

The former early years minister is entitled to the resettlement cash – which was a quarter of his government salary – after quitting the Holyrood administration in November.

Mr McDonald, who represents the Aberdeen Donside seat, resigned saying that “some of my previous actions” were “considered to be inappropriate”.

The Press and Journal later revealed that he had sent a text message to a woman which included a reference to a sex act.

Writing in this newspaper nine days after he quit, Mr McDonald admitted his actions had caused “considerable distress and upset” and that he was seeking professional help.

But the former Aberdeen councillor was subsequently suspended by the SNP after a second allegation emerged, with private investigators brought in by the party to probe the claims.

The MSP, who has not been at Holyrood since quitting, resigned from the government on November 4, and a resettlement payment due to be made 90 days after such a departure, as stipulated in the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009.

Scottish Conservative deputy chief whip Alexander Burnett called for the resettlement grants scheme to be overhauled.

He said: “It’s clearly wrong that Mark McDonald should pocket this payment considering the circumstances of his departure.

“It’s important we look at these processes again to ensure this isn’t repeated. The public’s view of the parliament as a whole would worsen otherwise.”

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant told The Herald: “This is unacceptable. It cannot be right that a minister who has resigned in such circumstances has effectively received a bonus from the taxpayer.

“If Mark McDonald has received this money, he must immediately return it or donate it to a charity such as Women’s Aid. Parliament must also urgently review the law.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: “Any change to the Scottish Parliamentary Pensions Act 2009 would ultimately be a matter for all MSPs.”

Mr McDonald could not be contacted yesterday and the SNP declined to comment.