Civil servant told to hand over Salmond probe memos
SCOTLAND’S top civil servant has been ordered to hand over all communications on a botched investigation into Alex Salmond by next month.
Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans has so far failed to provide vital information for an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints made against the former First Minister.
Officials say this ‘lack of progress’ is ‘impinging’ on the ability of the inquiry committee to do its job.
The Scottish Daily Mail understands the committee looking at the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints will begin the first evidence sessions in September.
It is likely Nicola Sturgeon and Mr Salmond will be among those to appear. However, it has emerged the Scottish Government is yet to hand over a series of documents related to the initial harassment complaints made by two women against Mr Salmond.
Committee convener Linda Fabiani said this was a point of ‘much frustration’ to MSPs of all political parties as she set a strict deadline. She has demanded Mrs Evans provides all correspondence and documentation relating to the complaints by June 22.
Further information relating to the judicial review must be with MSPs by ‘mid-July’ in order for the committee to begin its work in August.
In a letter to Mrs Evans, Miss Fabiani said: ‘We recognise that the Scottish Government’s current focus is on the Covid-19 response but the lack of progress to date in receiving any information is the source of much frustration and concern amongst members.
‘It is also impinging on the committee’s ability to interrogate what it knows will be a large quantity of information ahead of the forthcoming oral evidence sessions.’
In 2018 it was revealed two women had made harassment complaints against Mr Salmond relating to his time as First Minister. He launched a judicial review against the Scottish Government over the investigation into the complaints, which ministers later admitted had been ‘unfair’.
A four-day hearing was called off after the Government conceded defeat in January last year. It emerged the official who the probe had spoken to the women involved prior to a formal complaint.
Mr Salmond’s lawyer Gordon Jackson, QC, argued in pretrial hearings that the criminal case against him was orchestrated by key SNP and civil service figures.
The former politician was cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault – including attempted rape – following a criminal trial in March. Mr Salmond has vowed that ‘certain evidence’ he was prevented from bringing forward at trial will ‘see the light of day’ following claims of a conspiracy against him.
The committee was set up last year but its work was postponed until after the trial.
In letters to Mrs Evans, Miss Fabiani said that there was an ‘absolute’ deadline for documents relating to the complaints to be handed over.
Mrs Evans said she would ‘endeavour’ to meet the timeheaded
‘Source of much frustration’ ‘An absolute deadline’
scale. She said the staff needed to pull together the documentation are working on the Government response to Covid-19.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘In its letter of June 5 the committee revised the date by which it wishes to receive the first set of documentation from the Scottish Government from end-June to June 22. The Scottish Government will meet that deadline.
‘No earlier deadlines have been set by the committee for receiving documentation and therefore none have been missed.’