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The Historic Environment Scotland (HES) manager at the centre of the Martin Compston twerking row is being investigated over a sexual harassment allegation. Scotland on Sunday told how a senior staff member faced disciplinary action after allegedly dancing provocatively in front of the Hollywood actor at an Edinburgh Castle corporate event. Now The Scotsman can reveal the quango manager was suspended after a junior member of staff complained about an incident of a sexual nature that has sparked an investigation. Internal figures released under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation meanwhile show there have been seven complaints of sexual harassment, assault or abuse against HES staff since 2022. HR managers are being accused of failing to protect staff despite the organisation introducing a zero-tolerance policy just seven months ago. First thing Monday to Friday, The Steamie newsletter bring you the best political news and analysis An Edinburgh Castle insider said the situation had left many staff troubled. They said: “The HR department is broken under the current leadership. There has been failure after failure and this latest news is horrifying.” Information obtained via a FOI request confirms two HES colleagues are “under investigation for alleged sexual assault or sexual harassment or sexual misconduct in the workplace”. READ MORE: Historic Environment Scotland: Culture quango chose not to act on 'culture of fear' review recommendation It is understood one of the cases relates to an event at Edinburgh Castle earlier this year where a female senior manager is accused of sexually harassing a junior male member of staff. According to the FOI response, this incident was reported to the HES HR department on May 6 this year - around one month after the new policy was launched. Some two months later, in July, the female senior manager is believed to have been suspended, but has since been allowed to return to work despite the FOI confirming this is still a live case. The Scotsman has seen further internal documents and communications confirming this to be the case. The woman was at the centre of a human resources probe following her conduct at a Rod Stewart concert at Edinburgh Castle in 2023 attended by Mr Compston. Complaints were also lodged that Mr Stewart’s wife Penny Lancaster had been made to feel uncomfortable. While apparently drunk, she also allegedly twerked in front of Mr Comptson and sat in the lap of a corporate client. HES claims that protective measures “were put in place”, but this has been disputed given the manager’s return to work. The revelations come days after The Scotsman told how the HES HR department removed a recommendation from an independent HR expert tasked with leading an investigation that ultimately called for a “culture review” of the marketing department. The “culture review” recommendation was made on December 23 last year after the investigator found “countless witnesses stated their reluctance to answer questions for the fear of retribution”. The Edinburgh Castle source said: “Our leaders had the chance to step in and fix this problem back at the turn of the year when an independent expert recommended a culture review of this toxic department. The review was suggested because staff said they were frightened and feared retribution for speaking out, but we did nothing - nothing at all. “We then launch a sexual harassment policy and weeks later a senior manager is accused of sexually harassing a junior member of staff. Had our HR department acted this could have been prevented, but once again it looks like we have moved quickly to cover things up. “The staff at the castle are disgusted and frightened. If that is how we feel, how must the staff in the marketing and HR departments feel?” It is the latest revelation to engulf HES, which runs historic buildings such as Edinburgh Castle, and the under-fire marketing and engagement department. HES has also confirmed in the FOI response that a further five cases of sexual harassment, misconduct and assault have been investigated since December 2022, taking the total number of cases to seven in fewer than three years. Stephen Kerr MSP sits on Holyrood’s culture committee and has been calling for robust action from Culture Secretary Angus Robertson. He said: “This latest astounding revelation exposes HES’s so-called ‘zero tolerance’ policy as not worth the paper it’s written on. If it was anything other than a tick-box platitude, the individual in question would not be allowed to return to work until the conclusion of the investigation. “The fact that she’s allowed to work alongside her complainant is absurd and negligent.” HES chief executive Katerina Brown has been absent from work for four months, first on sick leave and then suspension, but returned last week to sign off the quango’s annual accounts. Sir Mark Jones, the new chair of the organisation that is funded by public money, appeared in front of the culture committee at Holyrood on Thursday. He confirmed two members of senior management had been suspended, but this did not include Ms Brown. Mr Kerr said: “It’s patently obvious that HES is rotten from the top down. This is intolerable in an organisation that receives £70 million of taxpayers’ cash every year. “Angus Robertson must intervene immediately in this dysfunctional quango or he’s failing in his duties as culture secretary.” A HES spokeswoman said the organisation could not comment on individual cases. However, the spokeswoman said: “We take all concerns raised extremely seriously and any allegations are thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken.” The spokeswoman added: “We are committed to providing a working culture where staff feel safe and have policies and procedures in place, including a sexual harassment policy, to support this.” The spokeswoman went on to say staff take part in mandatory sexual harassment training and are encouraged to raise any concerns.
