Resignations may follow inquiry report, says Black Rennie confident of snapping up seats

RESIGNATIONS and sackings may be needed once it is clear where responsibility lies for failings in the inquiry into how complaints about Alex Salmond were dealt with, a Nationalist has said.

Mhairi Black yesterday rejected calls for immediate resignations but said they may be needed once the Holyrood inquiry publishes its final report.

The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP also condemned those who have pushed ‘conspiracy theories’ and political agendas and admitted the divisions between supporters of Mr Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon could damage support for the SNP.

Miss Sturgeon last week admitted mistakes were made by the Scottish Government during its probe into complaints.

Asked on the Ridge on Sunday programme on Sky News about whether resignations would be needed to really take responsibility, Miss Black, pictured, said: ‘I think it’s important to remember that the committee inquiry has still to be published. So I think it would be a bit presumptuous to start sacking people right now.’

Pressed on whether it would be the right thing to do to take responsibility, she said: ‘Yes, but I think it is important that we figure out where that responsibility actually lies.

‘And in terms of the implication that this somehow lies with the First Minister, I would say that is where we know that there is a current inquiry being undertaken by James Hamilton which the FM referred herself to for further scrutiny, on top of the committee inquiry.’ She condemned the Tories for calling for Miss Sturgeon to resign before reports on her conduct are published. Pressed on whether someone should resign for the failings in the Scottish Government investigation, she said: ‘These reviews are in motion to identify what went wrong. And one of the things that has hampered that process is constantly having to rebut the wild conspiracy theories that have been touted.’

THE Liberal Democrats can prevent the SNP from winning a majority at the forthcoming Holyrood election, the party’s Scottish leader has predicted.

Willie Rennie told the party’s virtual conference his candidates can win seats in every region of the country on May 6. He said the gains would help avoid having ‘a government that can do whatever it wants, however damaging’.

The Liberal Democrats hold only five of the 12 seats in the Scottish parliament.

Recent opinion polls suggest the SNP could be on course to win a majority. But Mr Rennie said the Scottish Conservatives are set to lose seats in the election, while Scottish Labour will ‘take time to find their feet’ under new leader Anas Sarwar. He added: ‘The Greens will always back the SNP when they need them.

‘The Liberal Democrats, with our plan to put recovery first, are ready to win more seats.

‘Our gains will make the difference between a government that can do whatever it wants, however damaging, and a government that has to listen.’