Former Conservative MP Ross Thomson is threatening legal action against Labour Holyrood candidate and former MP Paul Sweeney. Before the 2019 election when Thomson and Sweeney were both MPs, Sweeney publicly accused Thomson of inappropriate behaviour, almost five months after the events were said to have occurred. He was subsequently cleared after an inquiry by the standards commissioner – who noted “Sweeney’s account has changed” and described behaviour that was “highly unlikely to have gone unnoticed by others in the immediate vicinity”. Now Ross wants Sweeney to say sorry – or he will pursue recovery of substantial losses. In a legal letter sent to Sweeney, Thomson’s lawyer writes:
“My client’s greatest desire is to be able to uncontrovertibly clear the stain on his character caused by these allegations. While it may be possible to put a monetary value on the damage caused to him, a clear written apology from you for the false allegations made against him would in his eyes be the most satisfactory compensation. Were he to receive such an apology, my client is prepared to draw a line under matters and take no further steps to pursue you for the losses arising from your false complaints. In the absence of such an apology however, please treat this letter as notice of the intent to pursue the recovery of all losses arising from you.”
In a further letter to the Scottish Labour Party, Thomson’s lawyers have submitted a formal complaint against Sweeney, and urged that his party membership be suspended while an investigation takes place.
If the party has not made investigation into this matter to date, please treat this letter as a formal complaint against Mr Sweeney and confirm that it will be investigated under its disciplinary rules. Pending that investigation concluding, and given the seriousness of the false allegations made, it would also seem appropriate to suspend Mr Sweeney’s membership at this time.
Read the letter sent to Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar here…
The standards commissioner has thrown out the complaint that ended the Parliamentary career of Ross Thomson, who stood down as MP for Aberdeen South at the General Election. The complaint, brought forward by then Labour MP Paul Sweeney, was dismissed after his story changed over time and was not supported by any witnesses’ recollection. Sweeney gave two interviews about the allegation last year, to the Daily Record and Mail on Sunday…
Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone told The Times that “Mr Sweeney’s account was of behaviour that was highly unlikely to have gone unnoticed by others in the immediate vicinity” adding that she was “concerned that the detail of Mr Sweeney’s account has changed, with new elements introduced over time”. Sweeney is keeping quiet today, not commenting on any of this…
Other political opponents of Thomson are being more generous on the other hand, the SNP’s Joanna Cherry has tweeted her support, saying:
“I’m no fan of Ross Thomson’s politics but it’s a disgrace that his career & life have been ruined by an unproven allegation. We must restore the maxim of innocent until proven guilty in public life in Scotland or we’re doomed”
Parliamentary Authorities are expected to release CCTV footage from last Tuesday evening in Strangers’ Bar in the House of Commons, where multiple witnesses say they saw Scottish Tory MP Ross Thomson drunkenly grope men. Over the weekend Thomson dug in saying “these allegations from anonymous sources are completely false”… a panicky claim that may prove to have been unwise.
Someone who was present in the bar at the time has requested CCTV footage of the evening from parliament’s Information Rights and Information Security (IRIS) Service, which they are entitled to do under GDPR. A response will be provided within a month…
“Thank you for your clarification and ID, received today. We understand your request to be for CCTV footage of yourself in the House of Commons on Tuesday 5 February
…
We will now progress your request and provide a response no later than 12 March 2019, in accordance with your rights under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPRs).”
Guido doesn’t see how Parliamentary authorities can withhold the evidence of this footage…
Aberdeen MP Ross Thomson has released a statement responding to the reports of his behaviour in Strangers’ Bar earlier this week. He has referred himself to the Conservative Party’s Disciplinary Panel and will be back at work on Monday…
“A series of serious allegations have been made against me that have featured in the media. I would like to state that these allegations from anonymous sources are completely false. No complaint has been made to the Police, Parliament or the Conservative Party. Nevertheless in the interests of openness and transparency I am referring myself to the Conservative Party’s Disciplinary Panel of the Code of Conduct. This has been a deeply distressing time for me and my family but I intend to be back at work on Monday.”
Scottish Tory MP for Aberdeen South, Ross Thomson, was removed by police from Strangers’ Bar in Parliament last night after groping male visitors. An eyewitness who saw the incident unfold inside the bar told Guido the story…
“He was in Strangers last night drunk and was groping young men who had guest passes on. Grabbing their backside and genitals and trying to put his hands down people’s pants.
Many people watched on in disgust and I saw someone pull him to one side to ask him to leave. He returned around four times after being chaperoned out and carried on groping people.
It became so unpleasant that the police had been called and eventually escorted him out of the bar after taking statements in the corridor. I believe the Sergeant at Arms is also aware of the incident.”
Questions had previously been raised after Thomson paid back expenses for a hotel room he shared with a male friend he later employed in his office.
Ross is a well liked MP but his behaviour here lands him in very hot water…
His office are not answering calls. He is not answering his mobile phone. CCHQ will only say “we’re looking into it”.
UPDATE: Scotland Yard confirm: “Police were called to a bar within the Palace of Westminster following a report of sexual touching. Officers attended and spoke to the parties involved – three men in their 20s and 30s. However, no formal allegations were made to the officers and no arrests were made.”
Ireland have once again confirmed that they have no plans to erect a hard border on the island of Ireland even if there is no Brexit deal. The Irish Government published their contingency planning for no deal yesterday, with Foreign Minister Simon Coveney confirming that Ireland has no plans to build a hard border in the event of no deal. The backstop is spurious – there is not going to be a hard border whatever happens…
What the Irish Government has been doing as part of its contingency plans – and what the UK has not to any significant degree – is buying up land around their ports in order to have the space to build new infrastructure should it be required. Change Britain’s Ross Thomson makes the point that the UK Government must start “acting responsibly” by making the “necessary preparations including at our ports”. Regardless of whether there is a deal or not now, the Government will inevitably need some extra land at ports if it ever plans to leave the customs union…
France has been buying up land near its ports as well, while Ireland, France and the Netherlands are all well into the process of recruiting extra customs officers. The UK should be miles ahead of its EU neighbours in preparing for no deal, yet in many areas it finds itself behind. Government Departments and the Treasury are still playing the blame game about why preparations haven’t happened sooner. Remainer attempts to stop the preparations outright are beyond daft. The bottom line is that the UK government has a paramount responsibility to implement no deal preparations at full speed now, whatever the politics of the situation…
UPDATE: An Irish Government Minister said this morning that Ireland was “working towards” increased checks at Irish ports and airports in order to “satisfy single market requirements” in a no deal scenario. For over a year Brexiteers have been dismissed for saying checks away from the land border would work, now it appears to be Irish Government policy…
