THE controversial former SNP MP Michelle Thomson is attempting to relaunch her career as an international political and business consultant, it has emerged.
After being dumped by her old party after a police probe connected to a her £1.7m property empire, Ms Thomson has started the “niche consultancy” Momentous Change Ltd.
Her partner in the venture is Roger Mullin, who was also an SNP MP until June.
Boasting “international ambition”, it aims to help organisations “meet and manage corporate and cultural change against the current tumultuous political and societal backdrop”.
Its first interim report, published on Monday, will be about Brexit and Scottish Business.
Ms Thomson, who rose to prominence in the independence referendum through the Business for Scotland group, was elected the MP for Edinburgh West in 2015.
However she was suspended by the SNP within months after it emerged her former solicitor, Christopher Hales, had been struck off for professional misconduct.
In its judgment on Mr Hales, the Scottish Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal cited 13 property deals in which he acted for Ms Thomson or her business M&F Property.
It said Mr Hales must have known that he might have been “facilitating mortgage fraud, whether or not this actually occurred”.
Ms Thomson, 52, and four others were later reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Despite appealing to Nicola Sturgeon to be reinstated, Ms Thomson’s suspension remained in place through the 2017 election, meaning she could not re-stand as an SNP candidate.
Two months after the election, the Crown Office announced it was dropping its case.
It said “an absence of sufficient credible and reliable evidence” meant there should be no criminal proceedings “at this time” against any of the five people concerned.
Ms Thomson, who always denied wrongdoing, said she had been “completed exonerated”, and demanded an apology from Ms Sturgeon about the lack of support from the SNP.
Ms Thomson said she was not concerned that her past would affect her new brand.
AShe said: “I feel in everything actions speak louder than words. When people look at the interim report they might not agree with some of it, but I believe most people are fair and will apply judgment and say clearly there’s a great deal of work has gone into this.
Mr Mullin, 69, who was one of Ms Thomson’s staunchest defenders at Westminster, added: “Recent political events have challenged us all to think differently and what Michelle and I are doing is combining our business, political and academic experience to encourage this.”
LibDem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Michelle Thomson will be joining a fairly crowded field of former parliamentarians who advise clients and influence decision makers.
"She certainly knows her way around the SNP, but may struggle to build bridges beyond her old party."
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