The Officegate scandal

Scandal

A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...

 was a controversy surrounding then Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 First Minister

First Minister of Scotland

The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...

 Henry McLeish

Henry McLeish

Henry Baird McLeish is a Scottish Labour Party politician, author and academic. Formerly a professional association football player, McLeish was the Member of Parliament for Central Fife from 1987 to 2001 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Fife from 1999 to 2003, during which...

 in 2001. It resulted in his resignation from the post.

While McLeish was a Westminster Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 between 1987 and 1998, before the advent of devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...

, he sub-let his constituency office in Glenrothes

Glenrothes

Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...

, Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, but failed to ensure that it was registered, or ensure that the party issued funds from the income to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. There was no allegation that he ever received or planned to receive any funds from the sub-let.

The issue was raised by the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...

 in the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 in April 2001. At that time he voluntarily paid the money to Westminster. There were continuing claims he should resign, mainly from the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 who claimed the issue questioned his integrity.

McLeish rebutted the charges against him, claiming that the issue was "a muddle, not a fiddle". Under pressure from internal forces within the party (possibly including his successor), he resigned on 8 November. He was replaced by Jack McConnell

Jack McConnell

Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament...

.