By Danyel VanReenen,Politics Reporter

Copyright stv

Douglas Ross has accused a government minister of assaulting and verbally abusing him inside the Scottish Parliament.

The former Scottish Conservative leader said he was “physically assaulted and verbally abused” by minister for parliamentary business, Jamie Hepburn.

Ross is now calling for John Swinney to sack Hepburn and he said he will be reporting the incident to police.

Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone addressed the allegations when Ross raised them in the chamber, she said: “This is a very serious allegation and it is important that it is dealt with through the appropriate processes.”

Ross told the Scottish Parliament that he had emailed the Presiding Officer about the alleged incident on Thursday morning.

He said: “As I left the chamber yesterday, I was physically assaulted and verbally abused by your minister for parliamentary business, Jamie Hepburn.”

Ross then described the alleged incident to reporters outside the chamber on Thursday afternoon, accusing Hepburn of grabbing him and swearing in his face.

“To begin with, I was shocked and kind of caught off guard because I thought it was a joke,” Ross said.

“Then [his grip] got tighter and tighter as he continued to grab on and got more and more aggressive. I realised it was not a joke; he was not being light-hearted; he was being deadly serious and aggressive in his nature.”

‘I won’t apologise for things I’ve not done’

Hepburn has admitted he used language he shouldn’t have but downplayed the incident, saying he did not grab Ross and instead placed his hand on his shoulder.

“I will freely fess up to things I’ve done, but I won’t apologise for things I’ve not done,” Hepburn told reporters.

“Yesterday, I put my hand on [Ross’] shoulder and probably used a few choice words I shouldn’t have. That’s it.”

Hepburn added: “I conducted myself in a fashion yesterday I have not conducted myself in before.”

Ross said he believes the issue started on Wednesday afternoon when he raised the issue of seagulls once again in the parliamentary chamber.

He said the alleged altercation was about “asking [the minister] for too many statements”.

“The language [Hepburn] used was ‘you and your f*****g statements, so many f*****g statements. Do you think I’ve got f*****g time for your f*****g statements?’” Ross said.

He said it was “very clear” that Hepburn was getting “angrier and angrier and struggling to control his anger”.

Calls for Swinney to sack Hepburn

Ross called on the First Minister to take a “zero-tolerance approach to threatening and intimidating behaviour by his ministers” following the incident, noting that Hepburn was not in the parliamentary chamber on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters, Ross said: “I know John Swinney, and I think he would be very uncomfortable with this. I would expect him to take the right approach and sack his minister.”

The Presiding Officer said she expected all members to “take their responsibilities under the code of conduct seriously”.

Speaking after FMQs, First Minister John Swinney, who was in Windsor on Wednesday for the state banquet held for US President Donald Trump, was asked about the allegation by journalists.

He said: “It’s the first I’ve heard about it. Obviously I was away yesterday so I don’t have any knowledge about it.”

However, he said he would “consider these issues”.

Police Scotland, the Scottish Government, Jamie Hepburn’s office and the Scottish Parliament have been asked for comment.