Shamed former SNP finance secretary Derek Mackay has set up his own consultancy firm two years after he resigned for pestering a 16-year-old boy with texts.
The senior government minister was forced to quit when it emerged he had bombarded the teen with hundreds of messages and called him “cute”.
He quickly disappeared from the public eye after the scandal but remained as an independent MSP until last year’s election.
But The Herald revealed Mr Mackay has now set up his own new business where he will work as a consultant for other firms.
New firm
On the Companies House website, the ex-SNP MSP is listed as the only shareholder for Lochan Associates Limited.
The firm is registered under an address in Paisley, which is in Mr Mackay’s former Renfrewshire constituency.
The business is described as a management consultancy for “activities other than financial management”.
Under the Scottish Government’s ministerial code, former cabinet secretaries are not allowed to take up lobbying roles for two years after they resign.
Ex-ministers must also consult an independent committee on any jobs they wish to accept for the same period after leaving office.
Mr Mackay’s new firm has been registered almost exactly two years on from when he was forced to quit in disgrace.
‘Predatory’
Revelations that the ex-SNP finance secretary had been texting the teen boy came just hours before he was due to deliver the government’s Budget.
Mr Mackay had been regarded as a rising star in the party and was touted as a possible successor to Nicola Sturgeon.
The former MSP admitted his behaviour had been unacceptable while rivals branded his actions “predatory”.
But he resisted calls to quit his post at Holyrood despite failing to turn up at parliament and having the SNP whip removed.
Tory MSP Russell Findlay said: “After shamelessly milking every last dime from Scottish taxpayers since his downfall, Derek Mackay’s legacy is likely to be a new law being brought forward by the Scottish Conservatives that will allow rogue MSPs to be sacked.
“It seems that his new venture has been timed so that he is no longer bound by the conditions that apply to recently departed government ministers.”