‘SNP leadership needs to put a lid on this’
a culture of secrets and cover up that is growing, and all taking place on Nicola Sturgeon’s watch. Is saving your own skin worth all the damage that you’re doing?”
Ms Sturgeon said that was a “litany of nonsense” and Ms Davidson should not “lecture on democratic integrity" when she was going to “dodge an election and take a seat in the House of Lords”.
She added the “most important” thing to her was Scotland’s reputation and the “integrity of our institutions
and I will always act in a way thatprotectsthat."it’sastrange cover up when I offer the information in published written evidence to the committee, it’s hardly a cover up when I’ve been waiting for months with five postponed dates to appear before the committee.
"It used to be possible in this country to have rigorous, robust political debate without a scorched earth conspiracy theory damaging the integrity of the institutions of this country. It’s not me doing that.”
Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie – who sits on the Holyrood committee investigating the government handling of sexual harassment complaints – said it was “astonishing” that the identity of one of the complainers had been “revealed” to Alex Salmond’s former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, whom Ms Sturgeon had met with on March 29, 2018.
"This is an extraordinary breach of confidentiality,” she said, demanding to know “on who’s authority” the name had been revealed.
Nicola Sturgeon accused her of “accepting at face value
Alex Salmond's account of all of this” and added: “I do not acceptalexsalmond’saccount of much of this which is why I will go through in detail what did and did not happen when I sit in front of the committee.”
She said the complainers voices had been “lost” in the process and their motives “maligned”, which was “deeply unfair”. "Accepting at face value the conspiracy theories and account of the man the women accused of harassing them seems to me to be quite a strange way of supporting and standingupforthosewomen,” she said.
But Ms Baillie said “standing up for women takes more than warm words” and added: “A complainer was named which is a fundamental break down in trust, it’s beyond belief that anyone would tell the name of a complainer to the former chief of staff for Mr Salmond which was then passed on, how on earth is that protecting women? It’s a gross breach of confidentiality.”
Ms Sturgeon said that she would set out all her answers at the committee but that she had “refused to sweep the allegations under the carpet” and did not regret doing that.
However, the issue was also raised by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie who said Ms Sturgeon needed to confirm whether the name of a complainer was given to Mr Salmond's former chief of staff or say “categorically that did not happen”. “Did the First Minister investigate this matter to find out the truth, because an absence of action from the First Minister could be negligence in that respect because there is corroborating evidence this did happen so is the First Minister saying they are lying?”
Ms Sturgeon said that to “the very best of my knowledge I do not think that happened” and added “there is a committee process under way right now and also a process separate to the committee where the independent adviser to the ministerial code is looking at these matters and they should take their course. That’s the right and proper way to proceed.”
Anyone involved in a conspiracy against Alex Salmond will be “getting their jotters” if his claims are correct, a friend of the former first minister has said.
Alex Neil MSP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think there’s a real problem now because this is starting to dominate the airwaves at a time when we’re still dealing with the pandemic and also, in four weeks’ time, we go into the initial start of the election campaign.
“I think the SNP leadership has got to try and put a lid on this.”
Mr Neil, who represents the Airdrie and Shotts constituency, is not seeking reelection in May. He is an ally of Mr Salmond's and has previously said he would welcome the former first minister returning to Holyrood.
Mr Neil said: "He believes that there was a conspiracy to get him.
"Initially he thought it was an attempt to keep him out of public life and not allow him back into the Scottish Parliament after he lost his Westminster seat.
"But I think since then this has grown and he believes a number of people have been involved in conspiring against him and stitching him up."
Mr Neil added: “If it was proven there was a conspiracy – everybody involved in the conspiracy I think would be getting their jotters.”
It comes amid a row over an inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.
The former First Minister confirmed on Tuesday evening that he would not give evidence to the committee in person on Wednesday as scheduled, after his revised submission on the potential ministerial code breach by Nicola Sturgeon was deleted from the Scottish Parliament website.
The Scottish Parliament was threatened with criminal proceedings by the Crown Office if it did not redact Mr Salmond’s key evidence. His submission was later redacted and republished on the website.
Senior doctors and consultants are leaving their posts with many taking early retirement amid exhaustion and burnout increased by the Covid-19 pandemic, the British Medical Association in Scotland has warned.
A survey by the union of 261 consultantsshowedthatalmost half were considering retirementinthenextfiveyears,with more than half of those saying thiswouldmeanleavingearlier than their pension age.
BMA Scotland said recent exhaustion and pressure during the pandemic had added to existing problems – one in five consultants aged 45-49 in 2010 had left the profession by 2020basedonanalysisofworkforce data, with early retirement being the most likely destination.
Dr Graeme Eunson, chair of thebma’sscottishconsultants Committee, said: “Our consultant workforce has played a majorroleinthecovidresponse buthasbeenstretchedtoitslimits over the past year and staff shortages are already affecting the ability of doctors to deliver the high-quality patient care they strive for.
“Staff are exhausted: from a hardwinterin2019straightinto the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, with no time to recover between the first and second waves,theyarenowrunningon empty."
He added: “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their mental and physical wellbeing is such that many feel the only waytheycanrecoveristosignificantly cut their hours or leave the profession altogether.”
Dreunsonsaidthatanimmediatepriorityofthenhsshould be allowing staff to recover.
Vanessa Mackay, clinical lead in obstetrics and gynaecology at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, said there is a “very real potential” of staffing issues after the pandemic.
“We now have a significant surgical backlog and our waiting list is growing – and then there are routine follow-ups too,” she said.rajmohan Padmanabhan,aconsultantanaesthetistinnhslanarkshire,said his workload increased significantly during the pandemic.
“The pandemic has affected people a lot – it’s changed their viewpoints,andpeoplearerealising that life is not all about work,” he said.
"Covid-19 has shown us that life can be very short, and doctorsmight be considering what else is out there for them.”
Transition “didn’t seem like a big jump” for an Edinburgh company, now reaping rewards of advance preparations while making progress within the new EU relationship.
When 25 year-old Alison Wood and Mhairi Cochrane, 23, last year launched sustainable hygiene brand Lilypads they knew they had to prepare “pretty quickly” for change.
As well as taking on board professional advice, Alison said: “I used the Brexit checker on the gov.uk website that was really good for pinpointing some of the things we hadn’t thought about.’’ Although there was initial additional admin to take care
PREPARED: Alison Wood. of, Alison wasn’t daunted by it. Their reusable period pads are manufactured in Lithuania, and the business is truly international, donating 10 per cent of revenue to subsidise period products in Kenya while exporting to Spain, Holland and Denmark.
And, now Lilypads have their processes in place, operations have progressed smoothly posttransition with the business anticipating further growth.