Parliament’s standards watchdog has been branded “not fit for purpose” by a former MP who has been left waiting 16 months for the resolution of a complaint against Ross Thomson.
Paul Sweeney, who lost his Glasgow seat at last year’s general election, submitted a complaint to parliamentary authorities about the alleged conduct of the former Aberdeen South MP in March last year.
Mr Sweeney claims he was groped by Mr Thomson in a Commons bar in 2018.
It really overshadowed my time in Westminster, it created an unnecessary toxic undercurrent.”
Paul Sweeney
The former Labour MP says the incident and subsequent handling of the complaint “has totally wrecked my whole experience of Parliament”.
He told us: “I’m so frustrated with the whole thing.
“We not been able to get any information from the parliamentary commissioner on what’s happening with the investigation or when it’s due to report or anything.
“It’s just ridiculous. In any other workplace would a complaint get dealt with in this way? It shows you how shambolic the whole process is by the fact we’ve both now left parliament and it still hasn’t been resolved.”
He added: “It really overshadowed my time in Westminster, it created an unnecessary toxic undercurrent. Parliament shouldn’t be like that.
“The parties need to sign up to internal codes of conduct, too many things are dealt with internally in the whips office or wherever.
“I understand there’s a concern about people making vexatious allegations and that destroying people’s careers, but the current system is clearly not working.”
The comments come just days after Parliament’s standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, called for a change in the complaints procedure.
Currently, the commissioner cannot reveal details of inquiries which she is undertaking, including the names of MPs under investigation and brief details of the allegations against them.
Ms Stone said the rules have left the public with the impression that serious complaints are being ignored by the authorities.
Writing in her annual report, Ms Stone said: “For the weeks and months while an inquiry is going on, the public will not know for certain that it is happening.
“This lack of openness undermines the standards system. If a serious concern comes to light and no-one confirms that an investigation has started, it is easy to assume that no action is being taken. It is also easy for misinformation to circulate.”
The Standards Committee is understood to be considering a reform of the rules.
Mr Thomson, who declined to comment, has vigorously denied Mr Sweeney’s allegations in the past, describing them as a “political smear”.
The parliamentary commissioner for standards was approached for comment, but a spokeswoman told us they could neither confirm or deny whether an individual was under investigation.
The spokeswoman referred us to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), approved by MPs in 2018, which sets the procedures for dealing with complaints of bullying and harassment by any member of the parliamentary community.