Salmond says he will attend harassment committee session
Alex Salmond has confirmed to Holyrood’s harassment complaints committee that he will attend an evidence session on Wednesday, it is understood.
The former first minister is understood to have accepted an invitation to appear before the committee following the decision by the Scottish Parliament’s Corporate Body to publish evidence he has submitted.
The non-publication of his evidence on the potential ministerial code breach by Nicola Sturgeon was the main factor blocking his appearance.
However, given his revised submission is to be published – albeit with some redactions –intheearlystageofnextweek, Mr Salmond has now agreed to appear.
The submission accuses Ms Sturgeonofbreachingtheministerial code, something the First Minister has repeatedly denied.
It was initially blocked from publication due to legal concerns.
Reacting, Alex Cole-hamilton, the Scottish Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said the session will be “vital”.
He said: “This will be a vital sessionfortheworkofourcommittee.
"We’re not going to revisit the accusations or charges against Mr Salmond, but we will by necessity ask some challenging and sensitive questions around how those allegations were dealt with.
"If we are to find answers as to how women at the heart of this were so badly failed by the government investigation then we must hear from the subject of that probe.”
Scottish Labour’s committee member, Jackie Baillie, added: “This is very welcome news and I look forward to having the opportunity to question Mr Salmond next week.
“Itisthedutyofthecommittee to uncover exactly what went wrong in the Scottish Government’s botched and costly handling of the harassment complaints made against Mr Salmond,anditisvitalthatwehave the chance to question him on this matter.”
The committee is examining the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond by the Scottish Government, which led to a £500,000 legal bill after the government conceded a judicial review challenge on the grounds of the process being “tainted by apparent bias”.