Victim: If Johnson can resign, why can’t Blackford?

An SNP staff member targeted by a sex pest MP said Boris Johnson is not the only party leader who should resign for failing to deal properly with harassment claims.

He said SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford should stand down after repeatedly failing to deal with his complaint against Patrick Grady, before promoting him to chief whip. Last week, Boris Johnson resigned after lying about his knowledge of sexual harassment claims against Chris Pincher before promoting him to a senior position in the Tory whips office.

The SNP staffer said: “The parallels between the Grady case and the Chris Pincher case are there for all to see, except only one person has resigned and it’s not Ian Blackford. If he had any morals, he would follow Boris’s example and resign.”

The man, a teenager when Grady harassed him in 2016, said he was devastated when Blackford promoted the sex pest to chief whip, effectively making his abuser his line manager. Following a complaint and inquiry, Grady was suspended for two days and forced to make an apology. Following the verdict, an SNP insider taped a meeting during which Ian Blackford urged others to support Grady.

To a chorus of cheers, Blackford said: “I think most of you know how I feel about Patrick and I would encourage the group to deliver as much support as possible.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon publicly offered to meet Grady’s victim, but he said he had not heard back. He said: “I was told that she did want to meet with me, but I’ve not heard from her people for a number of days now. After being more or less ostracised for the last couple of years, my office email has now been shut down and it looks like I have effectively been terminated.”

The SNP said it had offered to meet with the individual to discuss concerns and initiated a review of staff support to consider improvements.