Scottish Labour’s Foysol Choudhury has become the second MSP to be suspended by the party in less than two months.
The Lothian MSP is understood to have been administratively suspended by the party pending the outcome of an investigation – with a Labour spokesperson stressing it “takes all complaints seriously”.
The party insisted it could not comment on the matter while the investigation is ongoing.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously.
“They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”
The suspension of Mr Choudhury, who was elected to Holyrood at the last election in 2021, comes just over a month after fellow MSP Colin Smyth was suspended from the party after he was arrested and charged in connection with possession of indecent images.
In the wake of that, SNP MP Kirsty Blackman insisted that Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar “must urgently come clean on the reasons why yet another Labour Party MSP has been suspended, shortly after Colin Smyth”.
Ms Blackman said: “The public deserve full transparency.
“Given the long list of scandals that have rocked the Labour Party recently – with Foysol Choudhury, Colin Smyth, Peter Mandelson, Morgan McSweeney, Paul Ovenden and Angela Rayner all caught up in the last month alone – voters deserve answers.
“Whatever the explanation, with yet another scandal on the eve of their party conference, there’s no doubt the Labour Party is in crisis.”
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said Mr Choudhury’s suspension showed “Labour are in complete chaos on the eve of their conference”.
The Tory MSP said: “Confidence in Sir Keir Starmer is gone after a year of broken promises and U-turns, the digital ID scheme has faced instant backlash, Anas Sarwar is engaging in bizarre attacks on independent experts, and now Scottish Labour have had to suspend another MSP.
“Labour should launch an investigation into this latest situation and be as transparent as possible about what’s happened.”
