London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Patrick Grady to step away from SNP membership over allegations

Patrick Grady to step away from SNP membership over allegations

Patrick Grady is stepping away from his SNP membership while police investigate allegations of sexual harassment against him.

The move means he will not be an SNP MP at Westminster.

The Sunday Times and the Sunday Mail first reported that officers from the Met Police would be making further inquiries into allegations against him.

Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP Westminster leader have faced questions over the way the allegations were handled.

The Glasgow North MP, who will sit as an independent, was suspended from parliament for two days after he was found to have made a sexual advance to a teenage SNP member of staff.

Mr Grady, the party's former chief whip, told the Commons he was "profoundly sorry" after an independent panel found he had touched and stroked the neck, hair and back of his colleague during a social event at a London pub in 2016.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "On Wednesday, 22 June police received an allegation of sexual assault that is said to have taken place in October 2016 at a commercial premises in Folgate Street, E1.

"The report was submitted online by a third party.

"Officers will now be making inquiries, including contacting the alleged victim, in order to assess what further action is required."

An SNP spokesman said: "Patrick Grady is stepping away from his party membership while the police inquiry continues."


'Closing ranks'


Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP's Westminster group had questions to answer over its handling of the harassment complaint against Mr Grady.

Ms Sturgeon said she still had confidence in her party's Westminster leader Ian Blackford but said a victim who did not feel supported "is by definition unsupported".

After it was recommended that Mr Grady was suspended from parliament for two days, it emerged that Mr Blackford had subsequently urged his party's MPs to "give as much support as possible" to the MP after audio of an SNP group meeting was leaked to the Daily Mail.

Mr Grady's victim told BBC Scotland on Thursday that the party was closing ranks and attempting to discredit him in order to limit the fallout from the case, and was more interested in finding the source of the leaked audio than addressing the issues that it raised.

He dismissed Mr Blackford's apology over what was said at the group meeting and his "regret" that the victim felt unsupported as a "cop out" and a "publicity stunt" that was done to protect the politician's position and reputation.

Ian Blackford has come under fire over his handling of the allegations


In response, Mr Blackford said he was willing to meet the victim, adding: "If the complainant feels aggrieved, then I am sorry for that."

He said he had not yet had an opportunity to apologise in person because the investigation process had only just concluded, and said he also had a duty of "pastoral care" to Mr Grady.

He said he "regrets the fact the discussion took place the way it did" during the SNP group meeting, but denied his authority had been undermined by the situation. Mr Blackford also refused to directly call for Mr Grady to stand down but suggested he needed to "reflect on his behaviour".


Resignation calls


Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy MSP said: "Patrick Grady should have been sacked long before this but the SNP have shown they have absolutely no backbone and would rather back the perpetrator over the victim.

"The abuser is gone but the poison remains in the SNP and the party leadership should be ashamed of the way they have handled this scandal.

"It's appalling that Nicola Sturgeon and Ian Blackford are still treating a disgraced MP with more sympathy than the victim who suffered sexual harassment."

Mr Hoy also called for Ian Blackford to be sacked "so victims have confidence that they'll be taken seriously in the future".

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton also called for Mr Blackford's resignation.

He said: "At no point has Ian Blackford showed an ounce of leadership. He voiced absolute full support for Patrick Grady over the victim, allowed SNP whips to act menacingly and resorted to intimidation," he said. "Ian Blackford must go."


It's not clear if Patrick Grady had much choice in "stepping away" from the SNP but the party has certainly given the impression that it was his decision.

By excluding himself from membership at a time when the party has begun the selection process for the next general election, Mr Grady may, in effect, be excluding himself as a candidate and ending his parliamentary career.

That may depend firstly on how long the police process takes and - if it is reasonably swift - whether or not they decide to take any action.

This is not the only follow-up to this story because while Nicola Sturgeon has expressed confidence in her Westminster leader Ian Blackford, she has also questioned his handling of the case.

She has also offered to meet face to face with the SNP staff member who was touched inappropriately by Patrick Grady. He has yet to decide whether or not to accept her invitation.

This is hardly the curtain raiser the first minister would have wanted for her Holyrood statement on Tuesday on how she plans to bring about an independence referendum in October next year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×