Patrick Grady was forced to apologise after an investigation into how he treated staff at Westminster
A former MP who was forced to apologise after making “unwanted sexual advances” towards a teenage staffer at Westminster has been appointed to a senior role at a Scottish charity.
Patrick Grady, who represented Glasgow North for the SNP until July 2024, joined Scotland’s International Development Alliance (SIDA) as head of policy and communications in December.
The party’s former chief whip at Westminster, Grady stood aside after claims he pestered an SNP staffer in a parliament bar in 2016.
The member of staff complained to Westminster’s Independent Complaints and Grievance Service (ICGS), who later found that Grady made unwanted sexual advances by touching and stroking the then-teenager’s hair, back and neck in 2016.
The MP was forced to apologise to the public, as well as to the member of staff privately.
After the ruling Grady suspended his SNP membership in 2022, but this was reinstated in December of the same year. He was, however, not approved as a candidate ahead of the 2024 general election and left parliament in July last year.
The staffer who was targeted by Grady in the 2016 incident told the Sunday Post the appointment by SIDA was “troubling”.
They told the newspaper: “Employing someone with a documented history of inappropriate behaviour towards teenage colleagues sends a troubling message about how seriously they take safeguarding and accountability.
"Their decision to employ Patrick Grady calls into question the integrity of their leadership and their commitment to upholding the values they claim to represent.”
SIDA’s list of values, available on its website, claims it “strives to ensure that those we work with are safe from abuse in any form, by aiming for the highest standards of safeguarding policy and practice”.
The charity, which provides support for other groups working in international development in Scotland, also says it “adheres to certain values, and we ask our members to do the same”.
Grady’s appointment was not announced by the charity, but the former MP is now included on its list of staff.
The entry states: “Patrick joined Scotland’s International Development Alliance in December 2024. His career in international development began as SCIAF’s campaigns officer in 2002, later returning to the organisation as advocacy manager between 2011-2015. Patrick lived and worked in Malawi as a World Exchange volunteer in 2004-2005, and has maintained close links with the country and its people ever since. Between 2011-2024, Patrick served as the member of parliament for Glasgow North, and was active on a wide range of global justice issues throughout that time, chairing the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malawi and working with other groups focussed on Africa, WASH, NTDs and the Global Goals.
“As head of policy and communications, Patrick works with members and external stakeholders, acting on opportunities for influence, and leading influencing and communications with key audiences. He is also responsible for SIDA’s communications strategy with a focus on encouraging greater interaction with members and raising awareness of global citizenship with the wider public.”
The job listing, posted in October 2024, asks that applicants “develop and maintain relationships with political actors, government officials and other key stakeholders across Scotland and the UK”.
Grady will also be expected to line manage “staff, as well as management of volunteers, interns, suppliers, consultants or short-term project staff, as and when required”.
Personal attributes listed include being “able to address difficult issues sensitively, clearly and with integrity”.
A spokesperson for SIDA: “All staff at Scotland’s International Development Alliance are recruited following an open, competitive and robust recruitment process which includes safeguarding checks.
“SIDA takes its safeguarding responsibilities very seriously and will continue to do so.”
