No covert devices found in Holyrood bugging claims

The Scottish Parliament says no "covert bugging devices" were involved in reports of MSPs being secretly recorded by members of staff.

The Scotsman newspaper reported that a former worker had placed "recording devices" in the office of a female SNP politician in late 2023.

But Holyrood's presiding officer has now said that while there was a "localised employment dispute" involving a constituency office, it was dealt with by the MSP in question after an external investigation.

Alison Johnstone said one other historic matter had been raised by a different MSP, but that "they chose not to take further action" because the "employment relationship" with that staff member had ended.

The parliament said it had no information about any other complaints of this nature, while the SNP has denied that it was aware of any allegations.

But Johnstone's statement also noted: "No security protocol has the ability to combat scenarios such as the recording on a mobile phone of private conversations without consent and such recording can regrettably happen anywhere."

It added such behaviour by parliamentary staff "would constitute gross misconduct and be grounds for dismissal".

The bugging claims were addressed in a letter to Scottish Labour's deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, by Johnstone and the Scottish Parliament's chief executive, David McGill.

Baillie had asked the presiding officer to step in following the reports, describing them as "deeply alarming".

She said: "At a minimum, there has been a shocking violation of trust and an unacceptable breach of standards."

The response from Johnstone and Mr McGill said: "While the detail of these employment matters are confidential, we are assured that no covert bugging devices were involved.

"Beyond these two historic cases, we have no information of any other allegations of this nature at local offices or indeed at Holyrood."

A spokesperson for the SNP rejected allegations the party, or its leaders, were aware of the issue. They also supported calls for an investigation.

A party statement said: "We support an investigation by the parliamentary authorities to ensure that their processes are fit for purpose and appropriately safeguard all members and their staff."

First Minister John Swinney was asked about the revelations on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters at Holyrood, he said: "I'm not familiar with all of the details...but that type of conduct is completely and utterly unacceptable.

"Individuals are entitled to operate in an open and transparent environment and shouldn't be subjected to that kind of behaviour."