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SNP seeking to appoint new ‘complaints officer’ after recent controversies

Alex Salmond is sworn in before giving evidence to a Scottish Parliament Harassment committee.

The SNP is recruiting for a new “complaints officer” after a series of controversies over the conduct of senior figures in the party.

The post-holder would be responsible for managing complaints to the SNP, as well as acting as a point of contact for complainants.

The advertisement states that the successful candidate would “complement the work of the national secretary, responsible for discipline within the party”.

The move follows multiple scandals involving prominent SNP figures in recent years, including former leader Alex Salmond, former finance secretary Derek Mackay, former early years minister Mark McDonald, former whip Patrick Grady, and the MP Margaret Ferrier.

We asked the party if the position was created after questions were asked about the SNP’s complaints process during the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment allegations against Mr Salmond.

A spokesman said: “We are building up our headquarters team with a couple of new posts to directly support the local government convener and the national secretary.

Former Finance Secretary Derek Mackay.

“New posts for our independence task force will be advertised shortly.”

SNP chief executive Peter Murrell faced questions about the party’s complaints procedures while giving evidence in December to the inquiry that was set up in the wake of the government’s botched handling of allegations against Mr Salmond.

The rules, which Mr Murrell said dated back to 2004, gave the national secretary the “sole ability” to decide whether a complaint should be sent to the member conduct committee.

Asked at the time whether changes would be made to the process, Mr Murrell said: “It will be looked at. We have been through a constitutional review in the interim, and the disciplinary rules have not changed, but that is not a fixed position.

“At any point, we could look at the rules and think that they need to be changed, sharpened up or whatever, so that is an option.”

Peter Murrell committee
Peter Murrell, SNP chief executive

We previously reported that Mr Murrell’s evidence about the process appeared to be at odds with the way a complaint about former minister Mark McDonald was handled.

The first complaint about Mr McDonald was made to the SNP, not the Scottish Government, but the former Aberdeen Donside MSP was first told about it by government civil servant Liz Lloyd, the first minister’s chief of staff, on November 3 2017.

Mr Murrell said that only SNP office-bearers would normally deal with a complaint, and that it would not be routinely passed onto another organisation, such as the government, raising questions about why the allegations against Mr McDonald were being dealt with by Ms Lloyd initially, rather than the SNP national secretary.