NICOLA Sturgeon has axed two of her MSPs as parliamentary aides in a shake-up sparked by a conflict of interests row.
George Adam and Angus MacDonald will no longer serve as parliamentary liaison officers (PLOs) to senior ministers after the First Minister bowed to pressure and agreed to an overhaul of the jobs.
The SNP leader had sparked outrage after she handed a string of backbench MSPs roles as assistants to the ministers that they were expected to scrutinise in their committee roles.
It would have left the aides asking questions of their own boss in committee sessions, while giving ministers an insider on the committees that could have caused them the most difficulty and are tasked with holding them to account.
Ms Sturgeon rejected claims that it presented a conflict of interest to the MSPs but agreed to change the rules to prevent aides sitting on the committees that are directly linked to their ministerial boss's brief. She said the move, announced just months after she made the appointments, would remove "even the perception" of a conflict of interests.
As part of the new structure, MSP Fulton MacGregor, who is on the justice committee and had been aide to Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, has become assistant to health secretary Shona Robison. Gillian Martin, a member of the economy committee, will serve environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham instead of economy secretary Keith Brown.
Other MSPs have kept their roles as aides but moved committee, as part of changes approved by parliament this week. For example Jenny Gilruth, aide to education secretary John Swinney, has lost her place on the education committee and will instead sit on the environment committee.
Two MSPs, Mr Adam and Mr MacDonald, lost their roles as aides as part of the reshuffle, with 11 SNP MSPs selected to serve as parliamentary assistants compared to 13 previously.
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