{"id":57596,"date":"2017-11-04T18:15:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T22:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/"},"modified":"2017-11-04T18:15:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-04T22:15:35","slug":"scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’<\/b>
\nA Scottish minister has resigned over past actions he said were \u201cconsidered to be inappropriate\u201d, it was announced on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Mark McDonald, the SNP minister for childcare and early years, apologised \u201cto anyone I have upset\u201d as he stepped down from the role, the Press Association reports.<\/p>\n

The MSP for Aberdeen Donside said previous behaviour he had thought \u201chumorous or attempting to be friendly\u201d might have made others uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

It is understood the complaint is one of two made to the SNP about inappropriate behaviour, the second of which does not relate to a parliamentarian.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon had warned men<\/a> in positions of power in the party to reflect on their behaviour as allegations of sexual harassment reached Holyrood.<\/p>\n

In his resignation statement, McDonald, who was appointed a minister in May last year, said: \u201cIt has been brought to my attention that some of my previous actions have been considered to be inappropriate \u2013 where I have believed myself to have been merely humorous or attempting to be friendly, my behaviour might have made others uncomfortable or led them to question my intentions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy behaviour is entirely my responsibility and I apologise unreservedly to anyone I have upset or who might have found my behaviour inappropriate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of my position in government, I believe it would not be appropriate for me to continue to serve in my role in the Scottish Government at this time and I have tendered my resignation as a minister.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that in taking this step neither any particular woman<\/a> or my family will be the focus of undue and unwarranted scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been an honour to serve in the Scottish Government and I will continue to serve my constituents in Aberdeen Donside to the best of my ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy First Minister John Swinney also warned men<\/a> to examine their behaviour in a statement to parliament earlier this week.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for the First Minister said: \u201cMark has taken the right action in apologising and recognising that in his current role it would be inappropriate for him to remain in government.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will continue to make a valuable contribution to parliament as the MSP for Aberdeen Donside. As the Deputy First Minister told parliament earlier in the week it is right that men<\/a> take responsibility for their behaviour and it is to Mark\u2019s credit that he has done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Scottish Government spokesman said McDonald tendered his resignation to the First Minister on Saturday.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe Education Secretary is responsible for all aspects of the education portfolio including those led by the minister for childcare and early years. The First Minister will appoint a new minister in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claims of harassment in Scottish politics first emerged after human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar said women<\/a> ranging from MSPs to interns had raised concerns about behaviour across the Scottish Parliament.<\/p>\n

A confidential phone line was launched and an anonymised survey will be carried out to determine the extent of the problem at Holyrood, which said it was not dealing with any current cases.
\n
\nwww.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/entry\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits_uk_59fe23d6e4b0baea26321017<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’ A Scottish minister has resigned over past actions he said were \u201cconsidered to be inappropriate\u201d, it was announced on Saturday. Mark McDonald, the SNP minister for childcare and early years, apologised \u201cto anyone I have upset\u201d as he stepped down from the role, the Press Association reports. … Continue reading Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nScottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over 'Inappropriate Behaviour' - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over 'Inappropriate Behaviour' - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’ A Scottish minister has resigned over past actions he said were \u201cconsidered to be inappropriate\u201d, it was announced on Saturday. Mark McDonald, the SNP minister for childcare and early years, apologised \u201cto anyone I have upset\u201d as he stepped down from the role, the Press Association reports. … Continue reading Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’ →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-04T22:15:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gayfriendschat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GayFriendschat.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GayFriendschat.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#\/schema\/person\/181913201d50f65b9bba7437f822a17f\"},\"headline\":\"Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over ‘Inappropriate Behaviour’\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-04T22:15:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\"},\"wordCount\":549,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/scottish-minister-mark-mcdonald-quits-over-inappropriate-behaviour\/\",\"name\":\"Scottish Minister Mark McDonald Quits Over 'Inappropriate Behaviour' - 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