DISGRACED former finance secretary Derek Mackay will be entitled to a £12,000 golden goodbye payment this week – despite not being seen in public for three months.
Mr Mackay stood down as a minister in early February after it emerged he had bombarded a 16-year-old boy with messages, but remains an MSP.
He is automatically entitled to a severance payment of £11,945 – the equivalent of three months’ Cabinet salary – for losing ministerial office.
READ MORE: The messages that led to Derek Mackay's downfall
This sum is paid out by the Scottish Parliament after 90 days, which will be this week.
A Holyrood spokesman said: “Legislation states that, after a 90-day period, the equivalent of three months’ salary is payable on ceasing to hold a ministerial position. That equates to £11,945.
“The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has no discretion in relation to the making of payments.
“The act says the SPCB must pay the grant after 90 days. It is a matter for the member thereafter.”
Mr Mackay did not respond to an email asking if he intended to accept the payment, or give it to charity.
He has now earned more than £15,000 as the MSP for Renfrewshire North and West since disappearing from public view in early February.
There is no mechanism to remove him from Holyrood, and he remains entitled to his £64,470 salary as an MSP.
If he continues as an MSP until the next Holyrood elections, he will also be entitled to around £50,000 as a “resettlement grant”.
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Given the circumstances of his resignation, it’s pretty outrageous Derek Mackay is due a ministerial payout.
READ MORE: Fresh calls for Derek Mackay to quit as he earns almost £5,000 since scandal
“More to the point, no one has seen or heard from Mr Mackay since he was forced to quit.
“Taxpayers not only deserve more in terms of representation for his constituents, they deserve some answers from the man himself.”
Mr Mackay, 42, contacted the schoolboy on social media last August without knowing his age, then sent him persistent messages over six months.
He called the teenager “cute”, invited him to dinner and asked that their conversations be kept secret.
Mr Mackay’s behaviour came to light after the messages were published in the Scottish Sun just hours before he was due to deliver Scotland’s £40 billion Draft Budget.
Public Finance Minister Kate Forbes, who is now Finance Secretary, had to outline the tax and spending plans in his place.
Opposition parties called Mr Mackay’s conduct “predatory” and suggested it amounted to grooming. However, 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.
The party did not respond when asked for an update on this investigation, or if it has been in contact with Mr Mackay. It previously said he is “receiving appropriate medical treatment”.
In March, it was reported that some within the SNP were discussing the possibility 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 Herald previously reported the former minister’s official website has been taken down.
Archives show derekmackaymsp.org, which updated constituents on his activities and provided contact details, was still online as recently as March 3.
In a statement released on the morning of February 6, Mr Mackay said he took “full responsibility” for his actions.
“I have behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry,” he said. “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.”
Mr Mackay 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.
He was previously seen as a rising star in the SNP and was talked of as a possible successor to Nicola Sturgeon.
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