SNP MP John Nicolson cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries

An SNP MP has been cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries after liking tweets describing her as “grotesque” and a “vacuous goon”.

John Nicolson, MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, had appealed a ruling by the parliamentary requirements commissioner that his conduct on Twitter had amounted to bullying after a grievance by the previous tradition secretary.

Overturning a earlier ruling, an impartial skilled panel highlighted feedback made by Ms Dorries on social media, together with saying she would “nail [a journalist’s] balls to the floor using [their] front teeth”.

It was additionally famous “a number of occasions where [Ms Dorries] has advanced spurious complaints of harassment or bullying, which have been rejected or dismissed”.

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Ms Dorries’ grievance associated to a collection of “disparaging” tweets Mr Nicolson, the SNP’s tradition spokesperson, had preferred and retweeted following her look on the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in November 2021.

The former tradition secretary made a proper grievance to parliament’s impartial complaints and grievance scheme (ICGS) nearly a yr later in October 2022, alleging that liking these tweets amounted to bullying and harassment.

She complained Mr Nicolson’s behaviour within the House and social media exercise – liking or retweeting “disparaging material” about Ms Dorries 168 instances in 24 hours – constituted bullying and harassment.

The then-secretary of state additionally complained a few “spurious point of order” within the chamber of the House of Commons – an act the place an MP challenges the actions of one other MP by way of the Speaker.

Although an preliminary investigation really useful clearing Mr Nicolson, requirements commissioner Daniel Greenberg disagreed, saying he was “satisfied that Ms Dorries was “left feeling susceptible, upset, undermined, humiliated, denigrated or threatened’ by Mr Nicolson’s conduct” and had therefore been bullied.

Appealing against the decision, Mr Nicolson told the independent panel that the complaint was “political and private” rather than genuine, and arose from the fact he had been “efficient in exposing the complainant’s weak spot as a minister and exposing issues along with her personal document, which could militate towards her being accorded a peerage”.

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The panel found Mr Greenberg had not paid enough attention to the “extremely charged political context” of the complaint or Ms Dorries’ own record of tweeting, which had involved use of “robust language”.

The panel also noted that Ms Dorries had made no complaint at the time Mr Nicolson liked the disparaging tweets, or even after he raised a point of order in the Commons following a subsequent select committee appearance, in which she wrongly claimed the subjects of a Channel 4 documentary had been actors.

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It did note that similar behaviour as that seen between politicians may not be acceptable in other walks of life.

The panel also noted that liking and retweeting tweets were not “impartial” acts and Mr Nicolson had been “unwise” to take action with a number of the tweets in query.

In response, Ms Dorries mentioned that “a shadow of doubt” was being forged over “parliamentary process and the conduct of individual MPs” as a result of an impartial skilled panel overruled a choice that was initially suggested towards.

She tweeted: “In any workplace other than parliament where the rule of law, not privilege, applies, Nicholson (sic) would have been instantly dismissed.

“I’m dissatisfied that the Standards Commissioner’s verdict has been overturned on this approach. It appears unusual to me that it may be carried out on the idea of ‘new proof’ which I’ve not seen or been given the chance to reply to.

“Once again, a shadow of doubt is cast over parliamentary process and the conduct of individual MPs.”

Ms Dorries introduced she was standing down as an MP with “immediate effect” nearly every week in the past, however is but to truly go away the Commons.