MSP shut out of parliament amid spy cam report

MSP Colin Smyth has said he “strongly refutes” an allegation he placed a secret camera in the Holyrood toilets.

Smyth, 52, was suspended by Labour earlier this month after he was charged with possessing indecent images and is due to appear in court at a later date.

The South Scotland MSP had his parliament pass deactivated on Thursday after it emerged he faces a further charge of hiding a camera in a toilet.

A full sweep of facilities has now taken place and enhanced security checks have been ordered on a rolling basis. The parliamentary authorities said no covert recording devices had been found.

In a statement Smyth said: “This allegation has come as an utter shock and one I strongly refute. 

“For legal reasons, I can't respond to specific matters or speculation, and I appreciate there is a process to go through which I am, of course, fully cooperating with. But I sincerely hope it can be concluded quickly and fairly. 

“The speculation and the recent decision by the police to publicly release details of their ongoing inquiries along with my home address has been devastating and has taken a serious toll on my health.

“After my address was published with no warning to my family, I felt I had no choice but to move away to protect them. That has also meant losing the local NHS critical support I had been receiving for the past few weeks, making an already difficult time even more distressing.

“I would therefore ask that the privacy of myself, but above all my family and friends, is respected while this matter is resolved. Having this hanging over them is especially overwhelming.”

Last night the parliament said it had deactivated Smyth’s pass ahead of the return of MSPs next week following the summer recess.

A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “Given the ongoing criminal investigation, the SPCB (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) took the decision this evening to deactivate Colin Smyth's parliamentary pass. We have informed all building users at Holyrood.”

In an email sent to Holyrood staff, the Scottish Parliament's chief executive David McGill said: “We recognise the nature of the criminal charges and the ongoing investigation may be upsetting for colleagues and cause distress.

“We would therefore like to remind everyone who works at Holyrood or in constituency offices of the confidential support services that are available.”

That was followed up by another message from McGill and Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone on Friday morning assuring staff that a security sweep of the toilets and changing facilities has taken place, with no devices found.

It said: “You will have read the deeply concerning reports in the media this morning and we understand the unease and anxiety this will be causing you.

“We can confirm that Police Scotland, with our support, have conducted a full sweep of all toilets and changing rooms in our building and that no covert recording devices have been found. We have also instructed that enhanced additional checks to our existing security sweeps of the building take place going forward.

“Please be assured that our priority is your safety and welfare and please be confident to use the building as you would normally.

“We do realise this is a difficult time for building users and will write with further information later. Do not hesitate to contact us if there is any support or advice we can provide.”

Smyth, who previously served as Scottish Labour’s general secretary, was arrested and charged earlier this month over the possession of indecent images.

In a statement released last week, he said his arrest had “come as a shock”.

He added: “I am obviously co-operating fully with any inquiries and hope the matter can be resolved quickly.”

The MSP served as the party’s transport spokesperson between 2017 and 2021 under then leader Richard Leonard.

Smyth later was named Scottish Labour spokesperson on for constitution and external affairs when Anas Sarwar became leader.

A Scottish Labour Party spokesperson said: “Swift action was taken after we became aware of these serious allegations. Colin Smyth MSP is an independent MSP.

“We cannot comment further on these deeply concerning developments while legal proceedings are ongoing.”