Sturgeon’s ‘secret’ meeting to discuss Salmond concerns
Papers show no minutes were taken of top-level talks
NICOLA Sturgeon is at the centre of a fresh secrecy row after it emerged no minutes were taken of a meeting about allegations concerning Alex Salmond.
Leslie Evans, Scotland’s top civil servant, previously revealed she informed the First Minister of an alleged incident at Edinburgh Airport involving Mr Salmond in November 2017.
This related to concerns about the exSNP leader’s behaviour. However, it has emerged that no minutes of the meeting were recorded.
Documents obtained from the Scottish Government by the Mail following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that Mrs Evans and Miss Sturgeon arranged to speak in early November 2017.
In emails, the requests for a time to make contact are marked as ‘high’ importance but no further details are provided.
The FOI request asked for all correspondence between Mrs Evans and Miss Sturgeon between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. This was to include ‘emails, documents, handwritten letters/ notes, text messages and WhatsApp messages’ as well as ‘call logs and minutes of any meetings’.
However, no minutes were provided at all – including for the meeting involving the alleged airport incident, which Mr Salmond has denied.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ‘These revelations show how the Scottish Government has been secretive from day one in relation to this inquiry and they look determined to continue on that trend.’
The documents show that a meeting to be held on November 7 between Miss Sturgeon and Mrs Evans was cancelled.
It then suggests a phone call or meeting took place on November 9, 2017. No details of what this was about were provided despite it being marked ‘high importance’.
Mrs Evans was the first witness called to give evidence to Holyrood’s committee on the Government’s handling of harassment complaints.
She told the inquiry that she spoke to the First Minister after Mr Salmond contacted Scottish Government staff when he was made aware that Sky News was investigating concerns raised by airport personnel.
Asked if she had informed Miss Sturgeon, she said: ‘I told her about that. I said I was concerned mostly because the staff were anxious about it.
‘I was also concerned it could become a story... at the same time I was told that there were other people coming forward with concerns, not complaints.’
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said Mrs Evans had ‘left many questions unanswered’. She added: ‘This was an extraordinary event and for no record to be kept is very unusual for the civil service.’
Mr Fraser added: ‘To not make any minutes in relation to important meetings where serious concerns over conduct were raised is astonishing. The Scottish Government are going to quite extraordinarily lengths in order to try to keep things quiet.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘In the normal course of government business, not all ministerial conversations and meetings are minuted. Where decisions or commissions arise, they are recorded for action or the official record as necessary.’
The Holyrood inquiry is examining the Government’s botched probe into two harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.
Following a judicial review, it was found that the investigation was ‘tainted with apparent bias’.
Mr Salmond was cleared of 13 counts of alleged sexual assault in March this year.