Officegate

The Officegate scandal was a controversy surrounding then Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish in 2001. It resulted in his resignation from the post.

After McLeish became a Westminster MP in 1987, he took control of office buildings in Glenrothes.[1] He sub-let part of the offices, but failed to ensure that the income was registered when he claimed office expenses from the House of Commons.[1] A newspaper reported in early 2001 that McLeish had received rent from a firm of solicitors.[1] McLeish then promptly registered the source of income with the House of Commons.[1] Conservative MP Dominic Grieve wrote to Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Elizabeth Filkin, who referred the matter to the House of Commons fees office.[1] The issue then became dormant as McLeish ceased to be a Westminster MP after the 2001 general election.[1]

There were continuing claims he should resign, mainly from the Scottish National Party who claimed the issue questioned his integrity. McLeish rebutted the charges against him, claiming that the issue was "a muddle, not a fiddle". Despite appearing to have support from Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, he resigned on 8 November.[2] He was replaced by Jack McConnell, who was elected unopposed to the leadership of Scottish Labour and was then elected First Minister by MSPs after securing the support of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.[3][4]

References
  1. Hurst, Miranda (8 November 2001). "How the Officegate saga unfolded". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. "McLeish steps down". BBC News. BBC. 8 November 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. "McConnell elected first minister". BBC News. BBC. 22 November 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. Ponsonby, Brian (22 November 2001). "McConnell's clear run to the top job". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 September 2013.


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