Carmichael Sorry Over Sturgeon Memo
Former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael has apologised to both Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador to the UK after accepting responsibility for a leaked memo which alleged the Scotland First Minister wanted Tory leader David Cameron to win the general election.
Former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael has apologised to both Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador to the UK after accepting responsibility for a leaked memo which alleged the Scotland First Minister wanted Tory leader David Cameron to win the general election.
Liberal Democrat Mr Carmichael conceded he should not have agreed to the document being made public by his special adviser, Euan Roddin.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood ordered an inquiry into how the note, which claimed that Ms Sturgeon told ambassador Sylvie Bermann that she would prefer to see Conservatives remain in power after the general election, got into the public domain.
The Cabinet Office investigation concluded that Mr Carmichael could and should have stopped the sharing of the memo'' and added that heaccepts responsibility for what occurred''.
Mr Carmichael, who is now Scotland's only Lib Dem MP after the party lost 10 of its 11 seats north of the border, said that, while he had not seen the document before it was published by the Daily Telegraph, he was aware of its content and agreed that my special adviser should make it public''.
He stated: I should not have agreed this. It was an error of judgment which I regret.
I accept full responsibility for the publication of the document.
I have written today to the First Minister and to the French Ambassador to apologise to them both.''
Mr Carmichael added: Had I still been a government minister, I would have considered this to be a matter that required my resignation. I have therefore informed the Cabinet Secretary that I will decline my ministerial severance payment.''
Ms Sturgeon, the SNP leader, tweeted that she had received a letter from Mr Carmichael apologising for leak and accepting that contents of memo not correct''.
The Liberal Democrat had already confirmed that the memo, containing an account of a private meeting between Ms Sturgeon and the French ambassador, was written in the Scotland Office.
The note went on to say that Ms Sturgeon said she did not think Labour leader Ed Miliband was ''prime minister material''.
At the time Ms Sturgeon insisted that the contents of the memo were ''100% untrue''.
The leaked document was written by a British civil servant following a conversation with consul-general Pierre-Alain Coffinier regarding a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and Ms Bermann, who was on her first visit to Scotland in February.
In his letter to the Scottish First Minister, Mr Carmichael said: I wish to inform you that I am taking full responsibility for the publication of that document when I was Secretary of State.
I accept that its publication was a serious breach of protocol and that the details of that account are not correct.''
He added: I am clear that this was an error of judgment on my part and wish to offer you my sincere apologies for the embarrassment caused to you and the French ambassador.''
The Cabinet Office has also confirmed that Mr Roddin will not take his severance pay.
The investigation into the source of the leak looked at official phone records, emails and print logs, before interviewing those who had access to the document.
It found that an official mobile phone, which was held by Mr Roddin, was used to make phone calls to one of the journalists involved in the story.
The special adviser confirmed he had provided a copy of the Scotland Office memo to the journalist, and discussed it with him, believing it was in the public interest to do so.
Mr Carmichael then confirmed that Mr Roddin had asked for his view on the possibility of sharing the document with the press, and that he had agreed this should happen.
The Cabinet Office said the investigation teamtherefore concluded that Mr Roddin, with the assent of Mr Carmichael in the circumstances described above, was the direct source of the Daily Telegraph story''.
Ms Sturgeon accepted Mr Carmichael's apology for what she branded a dirty trick'' in the election campaign, but called for the Liberal Democrat to consider if he should remain as an MP.
The First Minister said she was satisfied that Sir Jeremy Heywood has established the truth about this sorry matter, and I thank him for his work''.
She said: Alistair Carmichael has written to me accepting that the account of my conversation with the French Ambassador was not correct, and apologising for what was a blatant election dirty trick in having it leaked.
I accept his apology, but the real issue is that he should be apologising to the people of Orkney and Shetland, because he clearly contested the election on false pretences.
Mr Carmichael said at the time that the first he was aware of this matter was when he received a call from a journalist, but we now know that this is simply untrue. The false memo was leaked by a special adviser acting under the authority of Mr Carmichael. He knew all about it, but said in public that he knew nothing until a journalist phoned him.
As well as the original dirty trick, which was bad enough, Mr Carmichael then tried to cover it up - and is only admitting it now because he got caught.
He needs to seriously reflect on that - and reflect on whether his actions and attempt to cover them up are consistent with his position as an honourable member of the House of Commons.''
A spokesman for French Ambassador Ms Bermann said she would not be making any comment.