DEREK MACKAY is under renewed pressure to quit Holyrood after it emerged his official website has been taken down.

The former finance secretary resigned in disgrace on the evening of February 5 after it was reported he had bombarded a 16-year-old boy with messages, including calling him “cute”. 

Mr Mackay has since earned close to £10,000 as an MSP despite disappearing from public view almost eight weeks ago.

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Mr Mackay remains entitled to his £63,579 salary, which will rise to £64,470 a year from Wednesday, because there is no mechanism to remove him from Holyrood.

He also automatically qualifies for a £12,000 severance payment for no longer being a minister.

If he continues as the MSP for Renfrewshire North and West until the next Holyrood elections, he will be entitled to around £50,000 as a “resettlement grant”.

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said the public deserved a resolution to the continuing limbo.

He said: “If Derek Mackay is not going to perform the role of an MSP for his constituents, then he must resign immediately. The deleting of his official website appears to be another step in that process.

“But this has now gone on for several weeks and the public deserves a speedy resolution.”

Archives show Mr Mackay’s website, derekmackaymsp.org, which updates constituents on his activities and provides contact details, was still online as recently as March 3.

He deleted his social media accounts in the days following the publication of his messages to the teenage boy. Only his Instagram remains, although this has been set to private.

The former finance secretary, 42, contacted the schoolboy out of the blue via social media last August without knowing his age, then sent him persistent messages over six months. 

He called the teenager “cute”, asked him to dinner and asked that their conversations be kept secret.

His behaviour came to light after the boy’s mother contacted the Scottish Sun.

Opposition parties called Mr Mackay’s conduct “predatory” and an example of “grooming”.

Police previously confirmed he will not face criminal charges, adding “there is nothing to suggest an offence has been committed”.

The SNP, which has suspended him from the party and removed the party whip at Holyrood, is holding its own internal inquiry into his conduct.

A Freedom of Information request showed Mr Mackay and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had two phone conversations as the scandal broke.

They spoke at 11.31pm on February 5, on the evening Mr Mackay verbally resigned as finance secretary, and again at 4.47pm the next day. 

Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman said the second call was to check on Mr Mackay’s wellbeing.

In a statement released on the morning of February 6, Mr Mackay said he took “full responsibility” for his actions. 

He said: “I have behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry. I apologise unreservedly to the individual involved and his family.”

He added: “Serving in government has been a huge privilege and I am sorry to have let colleagues and supporters down.”

Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman previously said she has had no contact with Mr Mackay since he resigned as a minister. Earlier this month, it was reported some within the SNP were discussing the possibility that Mr Mackay could retire due to “ill health”. 

This would see him entitled to a severance payment equivalent to the £50,000 resettlement grant. 

The SNP did not respond when asked if the party has had any contact with Mr Mackay. 

It previously said he is “receiving appropriate medical treatment”.  It added: “Any decision on his future is for him to make when he is well enough to do so.”

Mr Mackay did not respond to an email and no-one answered the phone at his Renfrew office.

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He was elected to Renfrewshire Council in 1999 at the age of 21, became an MSP in 2011 and rose to the position of finance secretary in May 2016. 

Seen as a rising star within the SNP, he was previously talked of as a possible successor to Ms Sturgeon.

Last month, councillors in SNP-run Renfrewshire agreed unanimously that he should quit with immediate effect as the MSP for Renfrewshire North and West.