NATS minister Kevin Stewart was “drunk as f***” and being “a bit creepy” before an SNP conference nightclub bust-up, it has been claimed.
The Scottish Sun today revealed how the senior MSP and Scottish Government member, 54, was involved in an early-hours altercation with a man after a party ‘drag bingo’ event.
And tonight WhatsApp messages from a group chat involving members of Young Scots for Independence, the SNP Youth Wing, obtained by The Scottish Sun, shed new light on the incident – and cast doubt on Mr Stewart’s claim he was not ejected from the venue.
In the group, a man seen in footage trying to to calm down the Mental Wellbeing and Social Care Minister claimed he’d tried “to tell Kevin to stop and leave the guy alone and go home” during the confrontation with a man.
And he told how Mr Stewart was “chucked out” of the Cheerz venue in Aberdeen – despite the MSP’s claim to reporters that he’d left of his own accord.
The man wrote: “I was trying to tell Kevin to stop and leave the guy alone and go home.”
Asked by another person what Mr Stewart, 54, had done to spark the row, he replied: “Just being a bit creepy I suppose is the nicest word he was drunk as f*** but that doesn’t excuse that kind of behaviour especially from a minister.”
The man added he was concerned the incident could spark a “major scandal” after telling the group he’d been approached by reporters.
But the WhatsApp chat was dramatically cut short as members asked for more details on what had happened.
A YSI group admin shut the chat down, systematically deleting participants from the group, which it’s understood more than 50 had been part of.
The boozy drag bingo bash on Sunday night was organised by Out for Independence, the LGBTQ+ wing of the SNP.
Sources said the event had finished when the incident happened, but many people had stayed behind.
Insiders said Aberdeen Central MSP Mr Stewart was on the dancefloor with a man, then became involved in a confrontation with a second male.
After our story about the incident – on the front page of yesterday’s Scottish Sun – was published online, it was shared in the YSI WhatsApp chat.
It led to a flurry of messages, with a man identifying himself as the one who’d sought to calm Mr Stewart, saying: “S*** that’s me hahahahha in the photo.”
The man was asked in the chat what the male who Mr Stewart was seen pointing and shouting at had done, and replied: “Not really what the guy was doing tbh [to be honest] more of what Kevin was doing.”
He went on: “And he [Mr Stewart] got chucked out by the bouncer.”
The man added: “I didn’t really want to bring the party in disrepute as it would be a major scandal but look like it’s already gonna be one.”
Egged on for more details, he replied: “Idk [I don’t know} if I should really say on this tbh feel like it might cause issues for me.”
Another person replied: “You’ve started so you might as well keep going.”
But at that point, admins restricted the chat and began culling participants.
Insiders have also claimed that the bust-up was sparked by Mr Stewart being “handsy” on the dancefloor with the man, but asked about this by reporters, he said: “I wasn’t handsy – someone else was handsy with me.”
The Scottish Sun tonight asked Mr Stewart about the claims he was drunk, “a bit creepy” and was ejected from the premises.
He replied in a statement: “On a conference night out with friends I got into a bit of an argument in a bar and I shouldn’t have lost my cool, which I regret.”
The YSI were asked for comment.
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