Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2023
Indeed—but I have laid out the circumstances in which the case emerged and I do not believe that an incorrect judgment was made in that regard. Many members who are looking at that and previous cases that have come to the chamber will now have doubts in their minds about when it is and when it is not appropriate to declare a particular interest.
It is the view of my colleagues in the Green group that our colleague appears to be being held to a different set of standards than previous members who were found wanting in relation to much more substantial breaches, where direct financial interests were actually at stake. She is also not being given the benefit of the doubt, which other members have been afforded. The following quotation is from a decision in 2020: when a member had similarly failed to declare previous employment, the committee concluded that
“the complaint ... was not related to a matter for which”
the member
“could have gained any financial benefit and there was no attempt to conceal the information, which”
was
“made available on the Parliament’s website.”
Those words are equally applicable to Maggie Chapman’s case, yet she is now being sanctioned by the Parliament, and that is a departure.
In closing, if the motion is approved, it potentially has implications for all members. There will be an urgent need for revised and detailed guidance to members on what should reasonably be declared for inclusion in their declaration of members’ interests and clerks and the convener will need to address that in the weeks to come. We recognise how vital honesty and transparency are in the dealings of the chamber, but my colleague has been honest and transparent at every stage of the process. Fairness and consistency are just as crucial—