One of the Scottish National Party’s rising stars has quit her frontbench job after police launched an investigation into property deals.
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Mrs Thomson, who was elected MP for Edinburgh West in May, has denied any wrongdoing but has withdrawn from the party whip, meaning she is now sitting as an independent.
Ms Sturgeon has said the SNP did not know about MP’s business dealings until reports began to emerge in the newspapers.
SNP members selected Mrs Thomson as the party’s general election candidate for Edinburgh West in January, following a vetting process that would usually examine her financial affairs.
Ms Thomson’s solicitor, Aamer Anwar, said in a statement released ahead of FMQs: “Michelle Thomson maintains that she has always acted within the law”.
“Now this may be a unfashionable view, but politicians, just like anyone else in our society, are entitled to a presumption of innocence”.
“We have in the meantime advised Mrs Thomson that it is important that no further comment is made on these matters until the investigation is concluded”.
These are clearly serious allegations about an SNP MP who leads business policy decision- making in the party.
“Serious issues have been raised here”.
Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “The reputation of politics isn’t high at the best of times”.
Councillor Jeremy Balfour, Conservative member for Corstorphine-Murrayfield, said: “I’m sure that we would expect Michelle Thomson to serve everyone within the constituency until these allegations have been fully investigated”.
“But now she does know”.
“This is someone that the SNP did know”.
Ms Thomson has been linked with property deals involving Christopher Hales, a solicitor who was struck off for professional misconductby the Scottish Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (SSDT) in May of past year in connection with 13 transactions in 2010 and 2011.
She added: “If the Law Society has concerns about any potential criminal matter arising from an SSDT finding, it will refer the matter to the appropriate authorities”.
On Wednesday, Nicola Sturgeon told reporters she believed that was the right thing for Mrs Thomson to do.
“Neither of those things prove the guilt of anything of any other person”. She is herself, as I understand it, not under investigation by the police at this stage. Her membership of the party has also been suspended.
Vulnerable people need to be supported, not exploited. Her company, M&F Property Solutions, targeted people who were desperate and exploited that vulnerability.
Ms Sturgeon said if the allegations are proven to be correct they will “represent behaviour that I find completely unacceptable”.
Now the SNP’s opponents are attempting to drag Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon into the row by suggesting the SNP has been guilty of a cover-up.
“To that objective we have contacted Police Scotland at Mrs Thomson’s request advising them of her wish to assist with their investigation if or when they wish to speak to her”.
“Does the First Minister think this sounds believeable – or is it the case that somebody, somewhere turned a blind eye?” “The business dealings in question pre-date her involvement with Business for Scotland, therefore we are unable to contribute anything on the issues that have been raised”, it said.
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Ms Davidson said: “This morning, Michelle Thomson’s solicitor said that she wants to come back into public life as quickly as possible”.
