Sturgeon ‘told about Salmond concerns months before probe’
●Top civil servant’s testimony raises questions for the Scottish Government
Nicola Sturgeon knew about alleged concerns over her predecessor Alex Salmond’s behaviour months before a formal investigation was launched by the Scottish Government, the country’s leading civil servant has said.
Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government, alerted Ms Sturgeon to concerns about the former First Minister in November 2017 after learning the media were looking into an “incident” at Edinburgh Airport.
Ms Sturgeon has previously said she was not aware of complaints to the Scottish Government about Mr Salmond’s behaviour until April 2018.
Ms Evans also said Police Scotland were alerted to three complaints of historical sexual misconduct by Mr Salmond – though only two cases were at the centre of the controversial civil court case that saw him win a legal victory over the government’s bungled handling of the internal investigation.
However, the Scottish Government later said she was referring to “three separate matters raised in the two complaints we received which were drawn to the attention of Police Scotland”, rather than one complaint being dropped.
The Permanent Secretary also denied that knowledge of concerns about Mr Salmond’s behaviour had influenced the design of the government’s policy in how it would handle sexual harassment complaints against former ministers, and refuted the suggestion it had been written “to get Alex Salmond”.
Giving evidence yesterday as the
initial witness on the opening day of an inquiry by a specially-convened parliamentary Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, Ms Evans said she knew in early November 2017 there were reports of alleged harassment by Mr Salmond.
Just a month earlier she had been commissioned by the First Minister to develop a new civil service sexual harassment policy, which would include former ministers, in the light of the #Metoo movement. The policy was finally signed off by Ms Sturgeon in December 2017, and the government launched its internal investigation a month later.
Challenged by Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Colehamilton about when she first knew of concerns about Mr Salmond’s alleged misconduct, Ms Evans said she was approached by staff, who had been contacted by the former first minister over an “incident” at Edinburgh Airport that Sky News were investigating in November 2017.
She said she had told Ms Sturgeon about Mr Salmond’s actions, and her own concerns for the upset it had caused staff. She added: “Concern was raised by a whole range of people in November 2017 ... I was made aware of contact that had taken place between Mr Salmond and certain Scottish Government members of staff in early November.
“He had wanted to talk to them about a piece of media work and I was told by two different sources, one extremely concerned, that they had received this contact, and were bewildered and unhappy about it.
“I didn’t know what was said, I didn’t ask. It didn’t feel appropriate, but I was concerned about the staff, who are my priority in these sets of circumstances.
“I mentioned that Mr Salmond had been in touch with staff about an Edinburgh Airport incident that Sky News was investigating, I did mention it to the First Minister. I said I was concerned because staff were anxious about it, and because it could become a story and so that we’d be ready for whatever story might blow.
“At the same time I was told there were other people coming forward with concerns – not complaints, they were not registered.”
Sky News ran a story in November 2018 about sexual misconduct claims against Mr Salmond, involving female employees at the airport around 2008. Mr Salmond denied the allegations and they were not part of this year’s criminal case, which saw him acquitted of a series of other sexual assault charges.
Yet Ms Sturgeon has previously told MSPS that she was only informed of allegations against Mr Salmond in April 2018 and that he told her himself at her Glasgow home. However, Ms Evans’s evidence suggests Ms Sturgeon may have had an earlier, fuller picture of allegations than she has admitted.
Mr Cole-hamilton asked whether knowledge of staff concerns had influenced the development of the policy, as “the optics of this are not great”.
“Was this targeted policy, which only applied to harassment complaints against former ministers, engineered to fit any complaint that had been arrived at through the Scottish Government?” he asked. “Was it designed to get Alex Salmond?” Ms Evans replied: “No, absolutely not.”
Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie also asked when Ms Evans knew of the “likelihood of concerns or complaints made against the former First Minister?” and again Ms Evans cited the Sky News Edinburgh Airport enquiries in November 2017. She added: “After that I was made aware of a range of people – though I didn’t know who – were raising concerns about a range of different circumstances, I understood, although I wasn’t told about them. And one of those I was alerted to had referenced Mr Salmond.”
Ms Baillie asked: “When was that?” Ms Evans replied: “That was in early November.”
The committee inquiry is looking at how the government messed up its own probe into sexual misconduct claims made against Mr Salmond in 2018.
He launched a judicial review into the process in the Court of Session, and the outcome was an admission from ministers it had been unfair, unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”, and a £512,000 bill for Mr Salmond’s costs.
The MSPS are also looking at whether Ms Sturgeon broke the Scottish ministerial code by staying in contact with Mr Salmond while her officials were investigating him.
Ms Evans, who was under oath, was the committee’s first witness and gave evidence on the development of the complaints process which was used against Mr Salmond.
She said the government had taken advice from Police Scotland when developing the complaints procedure to ensure victims were free to go the police if they wished – and that this was part of the final policy.
In her evidence she also revealed that a woman at the centre of one of the complaints was shown a draft copy of the harassment policy before it was approved, to get a “lived experience” view of the document.
Asked by SNP MSP Angela Constance about why the draft policy was “shared with a potential complainant” on 14 December “when the policy wasn’t signed off by the First Minister until the 20th”, Ms Evans said: “I wasn’t aware because I wasn’t close to the procedure development as you’d expect.”
Ms Evans refused to answer a question from Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser about her knowledge of claims that female civil servants were allegedly not to be left alone with Mr Salmond. This was a disputed claim made during Mr Salmond’s separate criminal trial.
The question was rejected by the committee chair, SNP MSP Linda Fabiani, despite objections from other members.
However, Ms Fabiani did urge Ms Evans and ministers to reconsider their refusal to hand over files related to the judicial review on the basis of “legal privilege” and a refusal to allow certain officials to give evidence.
After the committee Ms Baillie said the Permanent Secretary’s evidence “left many questions unanswered”. She said: “The drafting process of the policy on the handling of harassment complaints was clearly rushed and remains shrouded in secrecy.” Mr Fraser also said Ms Evans was choosing “secrecy over scrutiny”.
He said the “stunning revelation” of Mr Salmond’s contact with staff and Ms Sturgeon being aware of this “tells you all you need to know about a government that is rotten at its core”.
“I did mention it to the First Minister. I said I was concerned because staff were anxious about it, and because it could become a story”
LESLIE EVANS