A former SNP Minister has been praised after revealing he quit as an MSP over his depression.
Marco Biagi said he tried to take his own life in 2002 and used to wear coloured shirts in Holyrood so that nobody could see his arms.
In a heartfelt statement on Twitter, he wrote he would never recover from his mental health problems but insisted his depression was “back in its box”.
Biagi was elected as the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central in 2011 and became Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment within three years.
However, he stood down from Holyrood at the last election, a move that surprised colleagues who believed he was destined for the Cabinet.
He is currently studying for a PhD at the prestigious Yale University in the US.
Biagi said on social media that parliamentary recess – when Holyrood is not sitting – was the “hardest” time for him but added he only lost one day to mental health as a Minister.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP Cabinet Secretary for Social Security, described Biagi’s statement as “so powerful” and Local Government Cabinet Secretary Aileen Campbell wrote that her friend was “brave”.
