SNP evasion shows contempt for voters
For years, the Mail has highlighted the culture of secrecy that has been allowed to spread l i ke a cancer through the SNP Government.
Now the party’s determination to avoid scrutiny is reflected in its appallingly obstructive attitude to the crucial work of the Salmond inquiry.
In brazen defiance of two parliamentary votes, the Government is refusing to hand over key documentation to the MSPs examining the affair.
It is a stance that smacks of an arrogant dismissal of the legislature that has been tasked by the electorate with holding ministers to account.
Civil servants have been prevented from giving evidence in another slight to the authority of the cross-party committee, led by a veteran Nationalist MSP.
Yesterday the First Minister cited the ministerial code to insist submitting legal advice to the inquiry would breach its terms. Ironically, Nicola Sturgeon is herself under investigation for flouting these protocols, after allegations she misled parliament over her knowledge of the Salmond allegations.
It is clear that her government will use every conceivable method at its disposal to frustrate any attempt to unearth the truth about this extraordinary saga. MSPs deserve credit for trying to force the Government to live up to its promises of co-operation.
Yesterday the committee narrowed the scope of its request for legal advice ministers received during the judicial review brought by Alex Salmond.
Such a compromise should not be needed, but now that is has been proposed, ministers must comply immediately.
At Holyrood yesterday, ruth Davidson said the intransigence of the SNP suggested it had ‘something to hide’.
It i s a conclusion that i s becoming impossible to avoid, and Miss Sturgeon did nothing to dispel that suspicion with her highly evasive performance at First Minister’s Questions.
Her own benches, normally highly vocal in their support of the party l i ne, were conspicuously silent. And no wonder: they know all too well that Miss Sturgeon is treating ordinary voters with contempt.
of course there are legal obstacles, but ministers have had more than enough time to remove them. The longer this farce continues, the more it seems the party and government machine are closing ranks to protect the First Minister.
But her political survival should not be prioritised over the will of parliament.
The hypocrisy is overwhelming – and yet it’s what we’ve come to expect from a regime mired in a corrosive secrecy culture.
But the public are tired of government by spin doctor – and won’t be fleeced by its attempts to pull the wool over their eyes.
The time for hiding behind lawyers is over: without delay, the SNP must respect the wishes of parliament and hand over the files it has fought tooth and nail to suppress.
Miss Sturgeon’s future may well be on the line, but public trust in the institutions of the state is a far more valuable commodity – and this is being stretched to breaking point.