Hansard

The Scottish Conservatives accept that Annie Wells was in breach of what we believe to be a technical charge. However, we believe that the procedure was not in the public interest. In fact, the process that we are involved in is not helping a single person in Scotland, and the people of Scotland are who we are all here to represent.

Moreover, the proposed sanction is disproportionate to the offence. The complaint itself is regrettable and utterly unhelpful; all that it does is score political points.

I put on the record the fact that Annie Wells did not seek or gain anything from the remarks that she made. The media had already published stories, and Annie merely commented on those news reports, which were, by then, in the public domain. In fact, the substitution of one word in Annie’s statement could have made the difference between Annie receiving the proposed sanction before us and her having no case to answer.

In the wake of the news of the judgment, Annie Wells has been subjected to online abuse that has been, frankly, abhorrent. Such abuse is aimed increasingly at the female MSPs who are sitting behind me. I will let members make their own judgments on why they are being singled out. Those attacks are a disgrace, and none of us should ever accept that they come with the territory.

Annie Wells has been brought before the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland and the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee—

Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green) rose—