A HOTLINE to report cases of sexual harassment has been set up at the Scottish Parliament.

The presiding Officer, Ken Macintosh announced the dedicated, confidential phone-line for anyone working at the parliament with concerns to report them.

Mr Macintosh said there will be an urgent meeting of the five party leaders set up to discuss how Holyrood can ensure people feel able to report harassment and ensure the parliament deals with them properly.

Mr Macintosh said: “We fully appreciate that, regardless of who you are, coming forward with allegations of this nature can be an extremely daunting, indeed traumatic, prospect. We have therefore instructed the Parliamentary authorities to set up a dedicated, confidential phone-line to provide those directly affected or concerned about sexual harassment with a professional source of advice.”

The phone-line has been set up following reports of claims of sexual harassment at Holyrood.

Mr Macintosh and Paul Grice, the parliament’s chief executive, said in a letter to all staff working at the parliament: “These reports were disturbing and deeply concerning and we want to reassure all those working in the Parliament that sexual harassment has no place at Holyrood.”

They said there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual or any form of harassment and urged anyone who has witnessed or experienced harassment to report it to the Parliamentary authorities.

They said the number of reported cases of sexual harassment has been very low since the parliament was established but said it had to be asked if this was a true reflection of the scale of the problem or simply reflects a culture where people do not feel able to come forward and report it.

A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: "Over the last five years approximately, the number of cases reported to or brought to the attention of parliamentary officials, regarding inappropriate behaviour or harassment, is in single figures."