Week's ban looms for MSP

Mike Pringle in trouble for leaking McKie inquiry documents

News, 21 September 2006

MSPs have called for the Liberal Democrat member for Edinburgh South to be banned from Holyrood for a week for leaking information to a newspaper.

Mike Pringle was ruled to have broken the MSPs' code of conduct by passing on information about the Shirley McKie fingerprint case.

MSPs of all parties spoke against Mr Pringle yesterday at a Standards Committee hearing. Their recommendation was that he be banned from attending committee meetings and full sessions of the parliament, although he will be allowed to continue working in the Holyrood building. The proposal will need to be recommended by the full parliament.

The committee also recommended Mr Pringle consider his position on the Justice 1 Committee and apologise to the parliament.

Mr Pringle, who was not present at yesterday's hearing, submitted a written statement in which he said he was deeply sorry if his actions had caused offence, but that he did not believe he had broke the code of conduct.

The complaint was lodged by the deputy head of the Glasgow office of the Scottish Fingerprint Service, Robert Mackenzie, after submissions he had made to the committee in private were reported in a Sunday newspaper.