A Labour MSP has been suspended after claims of sexual harassment were made against him by a younger woman, it has been reported.
The Daily Record said Foysol Choudhury was facing the allegation after a complaint was lodged by a Holyrood staffer.
It emerged last weekend that Mr Choudhury had been suspended by Labour over an allegation of inappropriate conduct and was sitting as an independent MSP. However, the party declined to provide any details about the claims.
It is understood that the woman made an allegation of sexual harassment and was signposted to Labour’s UK-wide complaints process.
A Labour spokesman said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”
Mr Choudhury was born in Bangladesh, and his family later settled in Scotland. He was elected as a Lothian MSP in 2021.
The 56-year-old has been involved in the Edinburgh and Lothian Regional Equality Council for decades, and co-founded the multicultural Edinburgh Mela festival.
He is the second Labour MSP to have been suspended in recent weeks after Colin Smyth was charged with possessing indecent images of children.
It was also alleged that Smyth had placed a hidden camera in the Scottish Parliament’s lavatories. The South Scotland MSP “strongly” rejected the claim.
Swift action
Earlier this week, Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said he could not compromise the “independent process” around Mr Choudhury’s investigation by providing further details.
Asked whether he knew about the nature of the allegation, he said: “I’m sharing with you exactly what I do know, the reason why it’s right that I don’t know, and it’s right that I know at the appropriate time.
He also denied that the party had a problem with the behaviour of some of its MSPs, saying: “When issues come up, we take swift action. When we became aware of the nature of the investigation against Colin Smyth, we suspended him immediately. Now he sits as an independent MSP.
“Now that we have had complaints come in about Foysol Choudhury and they merit an investigation, we’ve moved swiftly, the same day to suspend him and he now sits as an independent MSP. We take swift action when it’s appropriate.”
[SRC] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/09/30/labour-msp-suspended/
