SNP’s court fight to keep secret ONE paragraph on Salmond
THE SNP is at the centre of a new ‘cover-up’ claim as it shells out for costly legal action to hide correspondence about Alex Salmond between Nicola Sturgeon and Scotland’s most senior civil servant.
Ministers have refused to reveal part of a letter sent two years ago by the First Minister to Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans.
In the document, released under freedom of information laws, Ms Sturgeon detailed the contact she had with her predecessor amid investigations into his conduct.
She explained to Mrs Evans, who carried out the botched probe into complaints against Mr Salmond, that she had spoken to him twice – but did not disclose this initially because she did not want to intervene in the ongoing investigation.
But just before Ms Sturgeon says she now felt it right that Ms Evans knew about the conversations, one paragraph has been redacted. The Scottish Government has insisted the hidden information was ‘exempt’ from being disclosed.
But, in a recent challenge, the Scottish Information Commissioner disagreed. Now, in a last-ditch bid to conceal what the letter says, the Scottish Government is taking the case to the Court of Session.
Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, a member of the Holyrood committee investigating the bungled probe, said: ‘The SNP Government has done everything possible to block the release of information relating to their botched pursuit of Alex Salmond that cost taxpayers £500,000.
‘This arrogant abuse of power is unacceptable and the public deserve full transparency.’
In March, Mr Salmond was cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh of sexually assaulting nine women while he was First Minister. He was also the subject of an investigation by civil servants after allegations of sexual misconduct.
The newly released letter to Mrs Evans shows Ms Sturgeon wrote to her top civil servant to tell her about the contact she had with Mr Salmond. She also told Mrs Evans legal action by Mr Salmond against the Government was imminent.
She said Mr Salmond considered the process being followed by the Scottish Government to be ‘unlawful’ and wrote that he had been advised by lawyers that he would be successful in an application for a judicial review of the process, the Herald newspaper reported.
Ms Sturgeon added that she was keen her letter was not seen as a bid to intervene in proceedings.
It is the second accusation within days of a cover-up relating to the Scottish Government’s handling of the Alex Salmond case.
On Friday, MSPs branded it a ‘democratic outrage’ that Ministers had failed to meet a deadline for handing legal advice to the inquiry.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have appealed the Commissioner’s decision to the Court of Session in relation to one paragraph of a document. As we do not comment on live litigation, we cannot offer further comment.’
‘This arrogant abuse of power is unacceptable’