SNP’S £30k to withhold Sturgeon evidence

SNP ministers spent £30,000 fighting a court battle to keep evidence gathered during an investigation into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code under wraps.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled against the Scottish Government last month, after ministers initially said they did not hold the evidence in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Benjamin Harrop, a member of the public.

This was challenged by the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC). In a highly unusual move, ministers had appealed against its ruling. However, the judges sided with the SIC.

An FOI request by The Scotsman found the Scottish Government spent £25,000 on the legal challenge, plus £5,000 in VAT. The costs related “to the securing of external legal advice and representation in court from external counsel”, it said.

The SIC ruled in January last year that ministers were wrong to state the information requested by Mr Harrop was not “held” by them and instructed them to carry out a review of their response.

Ms Sturgeon referred herself to independent adviser James Hamilton in 2019 over concerns she failed to record meetings and phone calls she had with her predecessor Alex Salmond and his former chief of staff after he was the subject of complaints from two civil servants.

Mr Hamilton investigated and issued a report in March 2021 in which he determined Ms Sturgeon did not breach the code.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser criticised the spending. He said: “The SNP Government seems to have an inexhaustible appetite for squandering taxpayers’ money on court cases that they almost always lose.”