An MSP has warned that questions remain unanswered surrounding an event in Holyrood which senior Tories boasted about on social media.
The MSP asked representatives of the Parliament’s Corporate Body about a meeting earlier this month, described in a Facebook post by Tory MSP Alexander Burnett as an “an excellent Scottish Conservatives’ event for our Councillors and Group Leaders”, accompanied by pictures of Tory MSPs and Councillors with glasses of wine in their hands.
The Scottish Parliament has now been asked by Mr McMillan what rules are in place regarding Members hosting political and party events outwith ‘MSP sponsored events’, which there are already clear rules against.
The event posted by Mr Burnett was described by Parliamentary authorities as a “Members Dining Night”.
Stuart McMillan MSP said:
“Scotland’s parliament should be an accessible place for everyone.
“However, seeing Tory MSPs boasting about a clear-cut party political social in Holyrood is concerning.
“Using their Parliamentary privileges to undertake blatant party political business definitely breaks the spirit of the rules – it’s now time to see if it breaks the letter of the rules too.
“After my question in Parliament today, I’ve been encouraged to continue my engagement with the Parliamentary authorities to get to the bottom of whether this ludicrous event was within the rules.
“Nobody is above scrutiny – and the Tories need to prepare themselves to answer serious questions about this dodgy bevvy session.”
