Seven Scottish Tory MSPs have been accused of "sleaze" after pocketing hundreds of thousands of pounds for doing second jobs on top of their parliamentary work.
The Tory party has been rocked by a sleaze scandal after former Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson resigned for breaching strict lobbying rules at Westminster.
Since his resignation a number of Tory MPs have been found to have made thousands from holding second jobs. The constant stream of revelations has seen Labour overtake the Tories in the polls for the first time in months.
According to the Scottish Government website seven Tories at Holyrood had second jobs excluding being an MP or councillor, rental income and shareholdings.
The seven have managed to earn a total of £325,500 with one MSP, Alexander Burnett, making £192,000.
It comes after Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross referred himself to the parliamentary standards watchdog for failing to declare 16 payments of £7,000 from the SFA for his work as an assistant referee.
Our sister paper the Sunday Mail also revealed that Ross, who is also an MP and MSP, failed to properly declare football earnings from another 26 games since becoming the MP for Moray.
The register of interests page on the government website shows that Burnett, who is a director at a number of firms, was the highest earner with Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron, who is non-executive director of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, coming in second by making £50,000.
Cameron's fellow Highlands and Islands list MSP Edward Mountain made £35,000 from farming and fishing, while new MSP Dr Sandesh Gulhane made around £30k from being a GP.
Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson made around £15,000 from an IT firm and an farming and property letting partnership.
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston pocketed £3,000 from accommodation, while North East Scotland MSP Liam Kerr made £500.
Scottish Labour business manager Neil Bibby ordered Douglas Ross to "get his house in order" and clamp down on MSPs with second jobs in his party.
He said: "There is no greater privilege and duty than to serve the people of Scotland as an MSP – that so many Tory members are happy to pocket thousands working second jobs at the same time is shameful.
"This is nothing other than the same Tory sleaze we have seen revealed at Westminster in recent weeks.
"It is high time that Douglas Ross got his house in order and clamped down on these MSPs who view serving the people as a part-time hobby."
A Scottish Conservative spokesman hit out at Labour for attempting to smear Dr Gulhane for being a GP.
The statement read: "These payments are all in the public domain because they have been declared transparently through the Scottish Parliament.
"It’s jaw-dropping hypocrisy to hear this attack from a Labour party led across the UK by a lawyer who raked in more than £115,000 for second jobs.
"And Labour should apologise for trying to smear Dr Sandesh Gulhane for being an NHS doctor.
"His frontline experience is incredibly valuable in holding the SNP Government to account.
"While Humza Yousaf goes on PR photo ops and Labour launch desperate political attacks, Dr Gulhane treats patients in Scotland’s NHS every week, and uses his medical expertise to put forward leading proposals like his plan for a network of Long Covid clinics."
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