Tom Gordon and Paul Hutcheon
THE former SNP government aide at the centre of a row over cronyism and T in the Park has abandoned her bid to come an MSP next year.
Public relations consultant Jennifer Dempsie, 33, confirmed she had withdrawn her nomination to become an SNP list candidate in the Highlands & Islands region.
In a statement on her Facebook page, she said wanted to achieve more in her business career instead, “with some exciting new opportunities arising”.
Ms Dempsie, a former adviser to Alex Salmond and the partner of Westminster SNP leader Angus Robertson, had been under pressure since it emerged last month that she helped the T in the Park music festival secure £150,000 of public money.
While working for festival’s promoters, DF Concerts, Ms Dempsie brokered a meeting between the company’s chief executive Geoff Ellis and culture secretary Fiona Hyslop.
After Ms Ellis warned of unexpected costs caused by the relocation of T in the Park from Balado in Fife to Strathallan in Perthshire this summer, Ms Hyslop later signed off an ”ad hoc state aid” package worth £150,000.
The deal - which was only revealed after the festival had finished - prompted accusations of cronyism given Ms Dempsie’s SNP links, and the fact DF Concerts had recorded a pre-tax profit of at least £4.5m in each of the last three years.
It later emerged that Ms Dempsie also brokered meetings between Ms Ellis and transport minister Derek Mackay and finance secretary and Perthshire MSP John Swinney.
Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson said Ms Dempsie had “personally lost credibility”, and the episode risked damaging the party’s reputation.
Following a complaint under the ministerial code, Nicola Sturgeon cleared Ms Hyslop of any wrongdoing earlier this month.
However opposition parties continue to press for more details on the payment to DF Concerts, and are pushing for Ms Hyslop to answer questions before a Holyrood committee.
Before the T in the Park row, Ms Dempsie also withdrew from the SNP candidate selection in Aberdeenshire East, where Alex Salmond is standing down as the MSP in May.
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