THE second ever Reform UK MSP has denied accusations that he was forced to apologise to a female colleague for bullying and intimidation last year.
The denial came at a press conference on Wednesday, where MSP Graham Simpson appeared alongside Nigel Farage and defected to his Reform UK.
Following his defection, a Scottish Tory source told The Sun that Simpson is "a pathetic nasty little man" who was forced to apologise to a female member of staff in 2024.
The source said: “Graham Simpson is a pathetic nasty little man who won’t be missed.
"Just last year, he had to apologise to a young female member of staff for acting in a totally inappropriate, bullying and intimidating way towards her. The way he spoke to her was so bad that he was forced to sit down and say sorry in person.
"He'll be more trouble than he's worth for Reform."
In response, Simpson said it was “absolutely untrue," adding that it was the “nastiness” he expected from his former colleagues.
He later said he was going to "ignore" it.
The briefing against Simpson comes after former Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Green said that he was suffered "vindictive" abuse from supporters of the party after he defected to the LibDems.
Writing in the Guardian, the MSP had predicted that others would defect from the Scottish Tory Holyrood group before the 2026 elections next May, and took a pot-shot at leader Russell Findlay.
Simpson becomes the second ever Reform UK MSP – following former Tory MSP Michelle Ballantyne’s defection in 2021.
Simpson said it was an “absolute wrench” to leave the party he had first joined at the age of 15, but added he had earlier decided not to stand for the Tories in next year’s election.
He also denied a “back-room deal” had been done which will see him become Reform’s leader in Scotland.
His speech ended with an open call to his former Tory colleagues to follow him to the Farage-led party.
