Disgraced SNP finance secretary Derek Mackay, 43, quits party after he was suspended for bombarding boy, 16, with 270 messages – including calling him ‘cute’ and inviting him to dinner
- Mr Mackay quit Ms Sturgeon’s cabinet hours before he was due to deliver Budget
- He was claimed to have befriended the boy on Facebook and called him ‘cute’
- Renfrewshire South and West MSP was suspended from the SNP pending probe
Scotland’s former finance secretary has resigned from the SNP more than a year after he was revealed to have sent hundreds of texts to a teenage boy.
Derek Mackay quit Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet just hours before he was due to deliver the Budget on February 6 last year following the allegations.
He was claimed to have befriended a 16-year-old on Facebook before besieging him with 270 messages, including calling him ‘cute’.
The Renfrewshire South and West MSP was suspended from the SNP pending further investigation but continued to sit as an independent.
He has now told the party he is resigning to ‘focus on the recovery of my mental health and serving my constituents’.
Scotland’s former finance secretary Derek Mackay has resigned from the SNP more than a year after he was revealed to have sent hundreds of texts to a teenage boy
An SNP spokesman said: ‘Derek Mackay has resigned his membership of the SNP, bringing the matter to a close.
‘As was widely reported last year, Mr Mackay was receiving mental health support, and as a result disciplinary action was paused. We wish him well for his recovery.’
Mr Mackay wrote to the SNP National Secretary earlier this week to inform the party of his decision.
In the letter he wrote: ‘I write to confirm I am not seeking SNP membership and continue to focus on the recovery of my mental health and serving my constituents.’
Announcing his resignation on budget day last year, Mr Mackay admitted he had ‘behaved foolishly’ and apologised ‘unreservedly’ to the individual involved and his family.
Derek Mackay quit Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet just hours before he was due to deliver the Budget on February 6 last year following the allegations (pair pictured in 2019)
Police Scotland carried out an investigation into the messages Mr Mackay sent to the teenager and concluded no crime was committed.
Mr Mackay, 43, was widely tipped as a future first minister but his career was brought crashing down following the revelations in the Scottish Sun.
The openly-gay father-of-two, who came out in 2013, was reported to have messaged the boy out of the blue.
The top SNP member allegedly asked the boy if the messages were ‘between us’ and even texted him on Christmas Day.
Mr Mackay’s resignation left his deputy and successor Kate Forbes to deliver the speech with just seven hours notice.