A civil servant in the Scottish Government has provoked fury from colleagues by showing up for work dressed as a cat.
Other staff members have expressed outrage at the official, who is said to be a man who identifies as a woman and works at the Victoria Quay offices in Edinburgh, turning up wearing a ‘visible tail’.
It led to calls for the worker to be sacked – but officials refused to say if action had been taken.
One current Scottish Government employee confirmed that a male who dresses as a woman has a ‘visible tail’ and that it is ‘unclear whether it is attached internally or externally’.
A former civil servant said the employee’s outfit caused anger among staff who were members of the Scottish Sex Equality and Equity Network (SEEN).
He said: ‘I know from my membership of SEEN that this guy was a problem. And yet he’s still allowed to get away with gaslighting us.’
It followed claims that circulated on social media about the member of staff’s clothing.
On the social media site X, one account named Albannach posted: ‘My friend in the Scottish Government says that a male has shown up to VQ to attend a training event while wearing a dress, cat ears and a cat tail. I wish that I was making this up.’
The civil servant is believed to work at the Victoria Quay offices in Edinburgh
Asked if the employee was sent home, the poster said: ‘No, his fetish was seemingly enabled and others forced to participate.’
Murray Meikle, a former Scottish Government civil servant, replied to the post by saying: ‘I’d heard about this. In the SG these days, commenting on this is (potentially) a career ending decision. An utterly dysfunctional organisation.’
He added: ‘It’s very very sad, I think it’s because we – the SG – needed staff and thought that folk that followed Sturgeon were the people to recruit.’
Under the Civil Service Code, members of staff are required to ‘always act in a way that is professional and that deserves the confidence of all those you deal with’. It is understood this rule extends to clothing and appearance.
Scottish Tory public service reform spokesman Murdo Fraser called it ‘scarcely believable’ such an incident could have taken place at taxpayers’ expense.
He added: ‘If Swinney is looking for somewhere to start his job cull, then anyone who thought it was appropriate to behave in such an unprofessional way might be a good starting point.’
Susan Dalgety, a former political communications adviser, said: ‘There should be no circumstances where a civil servant is allowed to dress as a cat while at work.’
Refusing to comment on whether any disciplinary action was taken, a Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘All civil servants are required to dress appropriately for work. The dress described in this claim would not meet that requirement.’
