John Swinney says call to strip Stuart Hogg of MBE ‘understandable’ after domestic abuse conviction

Scotland’s first minister has said a call to strip rugby player Stuart Hogg of his MBE in the wake of his domestic abuse conviction is “reasonable and understandable”.

John Swinney branded the former Scotland rugby captain’s behaviour towards his estranged wife as “incredibly disappointing”.

He added: “I think it’s absolutely reprehensible for men to behave badly in any circumstance of life and one example of that will be domestic abuse.”

Hogg, 32, last year pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-partner, Gillian Hogg, between 2019 and 2024.

He admitted shouting and swearing, tracking her movements and sending her messages which were alarming and distressing in nature.

A court heard how he berated Mrs Hogg for “not being fun” after going on drinking binges with his colleagues, and once sent more than 200 text messages to her in the space of a few hours which caused her to suffer a panic attack.

At his sentencing at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Thursday, he was handed a community payback order with one year of supervision and a five-year non-harassment order.

He was earlier fined £600 for breaching bail conditions by repeatedly contacting Mrs Hogg when prohibited from doing so.

Sheriff Peter Paterson warned Hogg the sentence was an “alternative to custody”.

Following the court case, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said the sportsman “should be stripped of his MBE”.

Read more from Sky News:
Police search for sisters last seen three days ago near river
‘It’s an apocalypse’ – families return to homes ruined by wildfires

Former Glasgow Warriors and Exeter Chiefs full back Hogg, who now plays for French club Montpellier, was awarded the MBE for his services to rugby in last year’s New Year Honours list.

Mr Swinney said: “I think that’s a reasonable and understandable call that Stephen Flynn has made.”

One of his responsibilities as a male first minister, Mr Swinney said, was to provide “leadership” for men to “behave better in our society”.

Mr Swinney, however, refused to be drawn on whether Hogg’s sentence was too lenient.

“Please don’t take it from me that I’m dismissing your concerns. I just don’t think it’s really appropriate for the first minister to comment about sentencing decisions,” he said.