SNP love cheat Stewart Hosie to quit as deputy leader
SEX scandal MP Stewart Hosie is to quit as SNP deputy leader following an affair with a younger woman and questions over his use of public funds.
Mr Hosie, caught in a love triangle with Commons colleague Angus MacNeil who also had a fling with the same journalist, said that he will not seek re-election for the job.
Both men face sleaze probes and the move puts pressure on Mr MacNeil to step aside as head of a prestigious Westminster committee.
In a letter to leader Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Hosie apologised for "any hurt and upset" caused by revelations of his relationship with blonde Serena Cowdy.
The love cheat, who had a mini-stroke in 2012, said he had been admitted to hospital three times with extremely high blood pressure.
The announcement that he will step down at the SNP's autumn conference came amid a string of Sunday newspaper briefings by colleagues claiming he was "toast".
Ms Sturgeon due to visit the Nationalist group at Westminster on Monday was also said to be "rightly furious" at the scandal.
The Dundee East MP revealed he was separating from his wife of 20 years, Holyrood Health Secretary Shona Robison, last Sunday.
She is one of Ms Sturgeon's best friends and the First Minister last week repeatedly refused to say she has confidence in him.
In his letter, Mr Hosie wrote: "I am writing to you firstly to apologise for any hurt and upset I have caused to friends, family and colleagues. That was never my intention.
The stress of the intense scrutiny of my private life has been very difficult
"I am also writing to tell you of my intention not to seek re-election as deputy leader of the SNP at this year's annual conference, giving ample time for the Party to choose a successor.
"As you know I have been admitted to hospital on three occasions in the past few years with very high blood pressure.
"In that regard, the stress of the intense scrutiny of my private life has been very difficult.
"I intend to concentrate on my constituents, my responsibilities at Westminster, and most importantly, my health."
Mr Hosie won his role as deputy leader in 2014 - seeing off senior MSPs and now Cabinet Secretaries Angela Constance and Keith Brown.
Yesterday sources said his touted summer role boosting support for independence also appeared over.
In her reply to Mr Hosie, the First Minister said she had enjoyed working with him and wished him well for the future.
She also thanked him for the letter and his authorship of two "successful" manifestos at last year's Westminster and this month's Holyrood election.
She added: "These are achievements you should be very proud of.
"As you step down as deputy leader, I know you will continue to make a valuable contribution to the party in many ways and, in particular, through your work in your constituency and as part of the Westminster group."
Mr Hosie and Mr MacNeil, who split from his wife last year, have been reported to two separate Westminster watchdogs to determine if they misused expenses to fund their trysts with Ms Cowdy, 36.
Both the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) and Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Hudson are yet to decide on any formal investigations.
Mr MacNeil has been criticised for billing taxpayers for stays at a four-star hotel in London, where he would meet the writer.
This is despite owning a two-bedroom flat in the capital that he rents out for £10,000 a year.
Mr Hosie charges taxpayers for a flat he is believed to have met with Cowdy, but made a £60,000 profit on the sale of another expenses-funded property.
The SNP has dismissed suggestions of financial impropriety as "totally wrong".
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Labour's shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said Mr Hosie had made "the right decision to resign".
He added: "Last year the SNP told us their MPs would be stronger for Scotland, but just twelve months on many have been a source of real embarrassment.
"This incident hasn't just seen them let down their party, but they are letting down the people of Scotland who voted for them and expect much better behaviour."
Scottish Tory chief whip John Lamont said Mr Hosie's departure was "inevitable given the circumstances".
"In the meantime, questions still remain to be answered about the way public money has been spent, both by Mr Hosie and Angus MacNeil," he said.
Western Isles MP Mr MacNeil, 45, is currently chairman of the Commons energy select committee.
But a Labour source said he "must now ask himself whether he can continue in his highly paid position".
"He has brought his party and parliament into disrepute," the source added.