DISGRACED Mark McDonald is likely to be housed in one of Holyrood’s worst offices when he returns next week after being shunned by his former SNP colleagues.
The former minister is likely to be given a notoriously noisy office on the ground floor of the parliament next to the busy main lobby because he is not welcome anywhere else.
The room, opposite the exhibition area used by MSPs to promote good causes, was previously occupied by Labour MSP Daniel Johnson.
However it was so noisy he moved to the office next door.
Alison Rowat: Time's up for shamed MSP who should go and go now
Ms McDonald, 37, quit as childcare minister on November 4 after admitting “inappropriate behaviour”, which he downplayed as a misfired attempt at humour.
He resigned from the SNP on Tuesday after a party investigation found he had persistently and deliberately harassed two women by “exploiting his position of power”.
Despite his pariah status, he intends to carry on as the Independent MSP for Aberdeen Donside, letting him collect £200,000 in salary before the 2021 Holyrood election.
The SNP has made it clear to parliament bosses that they do not want Mr McDonald to return to his office on the fourth floor, in between MSPs Kate Forbes and Richard Lyle.
Other parties are also deeply reluctant to have Mr McDonald in their midst.
That leaves a gloomy ground floor office next to the lifts as the default option.
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Nicola Sturgeon, who appointed Mr McDonald to the position of power he abused, and who initially said he would continue to be a “good MSP”, has called on him to leave Holyrood.
She said voters in his constituency should be given their say in a by-election, and it is understood the party had been gearing up for a fight in the expectation he would step down.
On a visit to Portobello in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, the First Minister defended her party’s handling of its investigation into Mr McDonald, which lasted more than 100 days.
She said the SNP, run by her husband Peter Murrell, would reflect on the circumstances, but also insisted the process had been “robust”.
She said: “I think any party who has a politician who ends up in this position will want to look reflectively at that but I was determined, and the party was determined, to make sure that a robust process was followed.
"We ensured that the investigation was independent, that it took the time to thoroughly investigate the allegations that were made and, of course, those findings were shared with Mark McDonald earlier this week. I think it's important that these processes are in place and that is what the SNP made sure of.
“Supporting women to come forward, making sure that a robust process is in place, allowing an investigation to happen and then making sure that nothing is swept under the carpet in that - I think these are things all of us have a duty, in circumstances that are very difficult and not of our choosing to be in, that we seek to do the right thing."
Mr McDonald has been absent from Holyrood since November.
John O'Connell, chief executive of Taxpayers’ Alliance, said Mr McDonald’s decision to cling on was “a slap in the face” for voters.
He said: "This case clearly demonstrates the need for voters to have the power to recall politicians and boot them out for good."
Alison Rowat: Time's up for shamed MSP who should go and go now
Ms Sturgeon previously insisted the right to recall disgraced politicians should be enshrined in a written constitution for an independent Scotland.
Westminster introduced a process for recalling MPs in 2015, but no such rules exist in Holyrood.
Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “Mark MacDonald was elected as an SNP member and therefore has space allocated to him in their offices and on their benches – he should remain in those spaces. The SNP cannot simply try to foist him off on other parties.”
A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said: “Discussions around the practical arrangements for Mark McDonald's return are currently taking place . This includes a change of room. These discussions are ongoing and no decision has been taken.”
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