£170k ‘Lady Humphrey’ laughing all the way to the bank
(But news) it’s not all good for Leslie ... she’s got Ian Blackford for a neighbour!
WHEN she retires in a few weeks’ time, she will walk away with an eye-watering pension – and a quarter of a million pounds in cash.
As Leslie Evans, Scotland’s top civil servant, steps down, the only decision she will have to bother about is where to cool her heels to enjoy all her new-found leisure time.
Will it be her £1 million apartment in one of Edinburgh’s most prestigious streets, or her hideaway seaside holiday home in the Highlands (where her next-door neighbour just happens to be the SNP’s verbose Westminster leader Ian Blackford)?
One can only imagine the scintillating topics of conversation over THAT garden fence.
Last week, in the midst of the furore over her refusal to appear before a Holyrood committee to face questions from MSPs, she appeared not to have a care in the world as she was spotted laughing and joking while out walking with a friend.
And why shouldn’t she be happy? The £170,000-a-year Permanent Secretary is on ‘leave’ until she officially retires at the end of this month. But when she eventually departs and pockets a lump sum of £255,000 and an £85,000-a-year pension, she will leave a trail of controversy in her wake.
Ms Evans was at the centre of one of Scotland’s biggest political storms – the botched Alex Salmond investigation.
She led the initial Government probe into complaints against the former First Minister. It was later ruled by the Court of Session that this had been ‘tainted by apparent bias’ and cost the taxpayer £630,000 in legal fees for Mr Salmond.
Ms Evans, 63, was heavily criticised for her part in this, with a Holyrood inquiry concluding the ‘multiple roles being fulfilled by the Permanent Secretary during the complaints process should have been seen as a risk’.
It is not the first time Ms Evans’ actions in a senior role have been called into question. Her findings during the 2017 election that the SNP did not breach purdah rules were criticised as ‘an extraordinary interpretation of the guidelines’.
At the time the Conservatives demanded the First Minister launch an inquiry into a dispute about whether or not Ministers broke purdah guidelines by announcing a multi-million-pound investment in Glasgow just before the local elections.
The rules are supposed to prevent Ministers from using government announcements to influence elections.
Emails published show that senior officials admitted it was an ‘error of judgment’ to announce £8 million for Glasgow, Ms Sturgeon’s top target in the election, only 48 hours before the vote.
However, Ms Evans omitted any reference to these admissions when responding to the complaint made by MSP Ross Thomson. She said: ‘There is no evidence that the Civil Service allowed party political considerations to influence the timing of this announcement.
‘This was one of a number of announcements relating to the grant decisions being made under the authority of a panel that operates independently of Ministers.
‘It was taken forward as a matter of routine government business and in no way designed to influence the election campaign.’ Notwithstanding myriad issues surrounding the SNP’s female ‘Sir Humphrey’, Ms Evans will soon have plenty of opportunities to head off to Skye, to a holiday bolthole with one of the best views in the country, away from prying eyes – and any accountability.
The £200,000 croft, registered in her husband’s name, is less than 220 yards from the home of the SNP’s Ian Blackford (the selftitled ‘humble crofter’) and both properties enjoy commanding views over a stretch of water which flows into the North Atlantic.
She stepped down from her role on December 31 and was put on fully paid leave until her forthcoming retirement. However, since then there have been repeated requests by a Holyrood committee to give evidence about her time in her highly paid role, which she has refused.
She was accused of showing ‘discourtesy’ to Holyrood by refusing to face questions from MSPs.
Finance and public administration committee convener Kenneth Gibson wrote to Ms Evans saying that members were ‘extremely disappointed at the discourtesy shown to parliament by your failure to engage directly with the committee regarding our invitation’.
But it looks like the only things Ms Evans are likely to engage with in the coming months are her travel plans – and her bulging bank balance.
Bolthole away from prying eyes – and any accountability