FEUD COULD KILL INDY DREAM
ANALYSIS
THE Holyrood Inquiry conclusions pose a mortal threat to Nicola Sturgeon’s career and the SNP’s electoral chances.
Until recently, the SNP was on course for an outright majority at Holyrood and independence was voters’ preferred choice in more than 20 opinion polls.
However, the fallout from the Government’s disastrous sexual misconduct investigation into Alex Salmond could derail Sturgeon and her political ambitions.
A special Holyrood committee was set up to get to the bottom of how £600,000 of public money was wasted during the flawed probe.
Much of the initial evidence to MSPs was from low-profile civil servants but the Inquiry has spiralled into a Salmond versus Sturgeon bloodbath.
He claims she misled Parliament over her statements to MSPs while she is of the view her predecessor is peddling wild conspiracy theories about her.
Sturgeon’s problem stems from her fatal decision to meet Salmond at her home in April 2018, where the complaints were discussed. She agreed to further meetings and spoke to Salmond by phone.
According to the former first minister, she offered to intervene in the process at the first summit. Sturgeon denies the claim.
The fact the committee has accused Sturgeon of giving an “inaccurate” account of what was said is a body blow to her.
For a committee to effectively say she misled parliament over such a crucial issue is a nightmare for her on the eve of an election.
She may ignore calls to resign by claiming the Holyrood Inquiry is full of opposition MSPs. She may even survive a motion of no confidence.
But the inquiry’s conclusion will add rocket fuel to the Salmond controversy and inevitably damage her in the eyes of the public. Regardless of your position on the melodrama, receiving a devastating finding from a Holyrood committee is a weak springboard for an election campaign.
Recent polls show the SNP’s lead at Holyrood is narrowing, no doubt caused by the pair’s sniping.
The infighting is also a rickety platform from which to demand IndyRef2, given the divisions inside the independence movement.
Sturgeon and Salmond were once the closest of political allies. He was her mentor and she was his protege.
The feud between the two most significant figures in the SNP’s history could destroy their shared dream of independence.
ONE unnamed victim said: “When I was handed over to my first client, I had no idea I was being sold into the sex trade.
“The client took intimate photos of me, some in my underwear and others more intimate and degrading.
“The underwear shots were then used as profile pictures on my Adultwork profile that my pimp created without my knowledge or consent.”
She said the website required the person posting an advert to provide a photograph holding their passport in order to “verify” and post it but the system didn’t work.
She added: “There’s no real way the website can verify that a woman is the same one who is then sold to a punter. I believe that my pimp’s wife took passport photographs under which all of his girls were then advertised.” She said there was no “safety” on the web: “The client is using a fake name, we’re using a fake name, so no one really knows who each other is.”