AN SNP employee has accused two MPs of sexually harassing him in separate incidents in London.
The young man complained to SNP HQ about the incidents last month and now says they are being swept under the carpet.
The first incident is alleged to have happened in 2016 in The Water Poet pub between the man and a male SNP MP.
The second is said to have taken place in Westminster's Strangers Bar in January 2020.
According to reports, the man, who works for the SNP in Westminster, was speaking to colleagues in the Water Poet Pub when the male MP "perched himself on the side of the couch".
He said: "At that point, he started putting his fingers down the back of my collar, touching me inappropriately there. He was also grabbing my hair.”
The man said he did not raise a complaint immediately, but after it was brought to the attention of SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford, he claims he was called to a meeting
He said the MP was "crying" in the leader's office and apologised, with the complainer adding that he felt the meeting was "an ambush".
The SNP has strenuously denied the man's account of the meeting, saying it is an inaccurate portrayal of what happened.
In a second incident, the man claims a female SNP MP was in Strangers Bar in the House of Commons "very, very drunk" in January 2020.
He said: "She was grabbing my hand, pulling me closer and saying to me things like 'You should come home with me.'
"She was saying things that were completely inappropriate in terms of what she wanted to do when I went home with her."
The female MP has said the claims are "utterly absurd and malicious allegations which are completely without any foundation whatsoever"
The man complained to SNP HQ last month and received an email from party official Ian McCann saying: “I have to be clear that the national secretary can’t look at a complaint in the context of sexual harassment in the workplace.
“Under the terms of the code of conduct, it would have to be examined solely as sexual harassment by one member against another member.
“If you wanted to make a complaint of sexual harassment within the parliamentary estate, that can only be investigated and dealt with under the terms of the independent scheme provided by Westminster.”
The complainer says he feels as though he is being pushed in the direction of the Parliamentary complaints system, and his concerns are being swept under the carpet.
An SNP spokesman said: "The individual has been provided information on the appropriate ways to raise a complaint and offers of support.
"The picture painted of the meeting in Ian Blackford’s office is highly inaccurate.
"That’s why it is essential for everyone involved that due process is followed. "Advice has been offered on how to make a formal complaint so that a proper investigation can be carried out.”
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