Holyrood passes its verdict on Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond
A committee of MSPs publish their report as the Scottish Tories call a vote of confidence in the First Minister
Last updated 23rd Mar 2021
MPS on a Holyrood committee have concluded First Minister Nicola Sturgeon may have misled them in her evidence on the Alex Salmond row.
Members probing the Scottish Government's botched handling of harassment allegations against former first minister Alex Salmond have said they "find it hard to believe'' that Ms Sturgeon had no knowledge of any concerns about inappropriate behaviour on the part of Mr Salmond prior to November 2017''.
In a new report published on Tuesday, the Committee on the Scottish Government's Handling of Harassment Complaints stated: "If she did have such knowledge, then she should have acted upon it.
"If she did have such knowledge, then she has misled the committee.''
The four SNP members of the committee disagreed with this statement, saying it "does not distinguish between bullying behaviour and sexual harassment''.
Fundamental contradiction
They claimed that "some evidence to the inquiry indicated that the former first minister could display bullying behaviour'' but "there has been no suggestion the First Minister was aware of sexual harassment''.
The report also highlights a "fundamental contradiction'' in the evidence the committee heard about a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and her predecessor in her Glasgow home on April 2 2018.
Ms Sturgeon has previously stated it was at this meeting she first learned of the allegations against the former first minister.
The committee said there was a difference in accounts from the current first minister and her predecessor on whether she would intervene in matters.
The report said: "Taking account of the competing versions of events, the committee believes that she did in fact leave Mr Salmond with the impression that she would, if necessary, intervene.''
MSPs said this was confirmed by Duncan Hamilton, who had accompanied Mr Salmond to the meeting.
Speaking about Ms Sturgeon, the report said: "Her written evidence is therefore an inaccurate account of what happened and she has misled the committee on this matter.
"This is a potential breach of the Ministerial Code under the terms of section 1.''
Again, the four SNP MSPs on the committee dissented from this section of the report.
They are separate from those of James Hamilton QC, who reported on Monday that there had been no breach of the ministerial code by Nicola Sturgeon over her role in the saga.
The Scottish Tories are still expected to bring forward a vote of no confidence.
Two year inquiry
The cross-party Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment ComplaintsIt was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the Scottish Government's investigation being ruled unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias'' in 2019.
Mr Salmond was awarded a maximum payout of £512,250 after the government conceded the case a week before it was due to be heard in court because of prior contact between the investigating officer Judith Mackinnon and two of the women who made complaints.
Committee members have held 14 public evidence sessions, questioning a range of witnesses about the development of the complaints policy that was used unlawfully, the handling of the allegations, Mr Salmond's successful judicial review and the ministerial code.
The First Minister was questioned for almost seven hours about her role in the botched investigation, as well as her predecessor Mr Salmond who used his appearance to accuse the First Minister of multiple breaches of the ministerial code and argue there was a "malicious'' plot to remove him from public life.
Findings leaked
A leak of the report's findings last week suggested the inquiry concluded that Ms Sturgeon gave an "inaccurate'' account of her meetings and phone calls with Mr Salmond about the investigation.
A motion of no confidence, tabled by the Scottish Conservatives, is due to be debated and voted upon on in the afternoon.
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross insisted it was "up to the Scottish Parliament to decide if the First Minister has been misleading''.
If the vote happens it is expected to go the First Minister's way due to backing from the Scottish Greens.
Ms Sturgeon said: "I'm confident that vote will express confidence in me.
"Remember that the Tories said they would have a confidence vote in me before I uttered a single word of evidence before the parliamentary inquiry.
"They have decided on this issue a long time ago this is a political stunt."