THE sexual message that prompted the resignation of an SNP minister has been leaked, alongside details of another misconduct complaint against him.
Mark McDonald reportedly referred to being “fingered” in a private message to a woman who rejected his requests to meet and subsequently complained to the SNP.
The Aberdeen Donside MSP quit as childcare and early years minster on November 4, and has not attended Holyrood since, although he continues to draw his £62,000 salary.
The Sunday Times printed Twitter direct messages it said had been sent by Mr McDonald in 2016 to a woman who snubbed his approaches.
The paper reported that one read: “Cuts me deep”. The next said: “That’s twice you’ve dingyed me now. Twice. It’s ok tho I understand,” followed by sad emojis.
A third message said: “My phone wanted to autocorrect dingyed to fingered there which I’m so glad I noticed before I sent that message,” followed by a red-faced emoji.
The paper also quoted a source close to the SNP inquiry into Mr McDonald who said the MSP and woman later “interacted on social media and in public” without a hint of a problem.
The paper also reported details of a second allegation that first emerged last week.
A woman claimed to have woken up in a hotel room with no idea how she got there.
The Sunday Times said this referred to the SNP Christmas party in 2015, after which Mr McDonald, the woman and a second man went to a hotel near Holyrood about 1am.
The woman was said to have been distressed when the second man went to bed and she was left with Mr McDonald.
The MSP has denied any wrongdoing, and said he had offered to order the woman a taxi and let her sleep on his bed while he slept on an armchair, but she left at around 4am.
A poll for the Sunday Post found most voters want Mr McDonald to stand down as an MSP.
The online Survation survey voters found 53 per cent said he should never return to parliament, with only 21 per cent saying he should come back, and 26 per cent undecided.
However 58 per cent agreed MPs or MSPs should keep away from parliament if under investigation, against 29 per cent who said they should attend, and 14 per cent undecided.
If Mr McDonald were to quit Holyrood, it would create a byelection in Aberdeen Donside, where the SNP majority was 11,630 in 2016.
The overlapping Westminster constituency of Gordon fell to the Tories in last year’s general election, meaning Donside would no longer be regarded as a safe SNP seat.
Alexander Burnett, the Tory MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said the SNP investigation into Mr McDonald had “dragged on for far too long”.
He said: “Either he comes back in the next week or he should resign and let someone else represent the people of Aberdeen Donside.
“The Nationalists love to preach to others about how to go about their business, yet when it comes to themselves, they go silent. Enough – it’s high time they sorted this out.”
The Herald revealed last week that Mr McDonald was automatically paid a £7,270 severance grant after his resignation, despite admitted causing a woman “considerable distress”.
MSPs on the body running Holyrood will meet on Thursday to discuss a change in the law.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Mr McDonald is currently suspended from the SNP. An independent investigation is ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
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