Salmond inquiry convener’s anger as witnesses blocked
THE convener of the Alex Salmond inquiry has slammed the latest delay to the probe after the Scottish Government refused to send two senior civil servants to a hearing.
Linda Fabiani leads a committee probing how ministers botched sexual harassment complaints made against Salmond when he was first minister.
Deputy First Minister
John Swinney wrote to the inquiry to claim that having the witnesses at its next session on Tuesday “would create an unacceptable risk” in relation to identification of the complainers in the court case.
In reply, Fabiani said: “While the committee appreciates no witness should be put in a position where they might inadvertently breach a court order, it’s the Scottish Government which has put its employees in this position.”
Salmond pursued a judicial review of the Scottish Government’s £500,000 probe and it was accepted the inquiry was unlawful.
The committee wants to know when the Scottish Government was advised by lawyers it was likely to lose the case.