Scottish leader fights back in row with ex-mentor

EDINBURGH: Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday defended her handling of sexual assault claims against her predecessor, in a case that has erupted into a full-blown crisis for the independence movement as pressure mounts for her to resign.

The leader of the Scotish National Party (SNP) vehemently denied claims that she misled the parliament in Edinburgh about when she knew of the claims against former leader Alex Salmond.

“I have searched my soul on all of this many, many times over,” Sturgeon told a parliamentary inquiry.

“It may very well be that I didn’t get everything right, that’s for others to judge.

“But in one of the most invidious political and personal situations I have ever faced, I believe I acted properly and appropriately and that overall, I made the best judgement I could.”

Salmond, who was cleared of all charges at a trial last year, has accused her of a failure of leadership and said he believed she breached the ministerial code, which is normally considered a resigning mater. It has been a spectacular falling out between Sturgeon and Salmond, her political mentor and long-time friend, casting a shadow over the SNP’S prospects at elections coming up in May as the party steps up calls for a second referendum on Scotish independence.

Legal advice reluctantly published by the Scotish government late on Tuesday showed that it ignored legal advice in pressing on with a doomed case against Salmond, according to opposition parties.

Scotish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said he would file a no-confidence motion in the Edinburgh parliament, where the SNP has no overall majority.

“There is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scotish Parliament and broke the ministerial code on numerous counts,” he said.

“The weight of the evidence is overwhelming. Nicola Sturgeon must resign,” Ross added, ater evidence from two other witnesses also called into question Sturgeon’s version of events surrounding the handling of claims against Salmond.

The newly appointed leader of the Scotish Labour party, Anas Sarwar, said last weekend that Sturgeon should quit if she is found to have breached the ministerial code.

But Ian Blackford, who leads the SNP in the UK parliament in London, accused the Conservatives of electioneering ahead of the May polls and hailed Sturgeon’s “very strong leadership and integrity.”

“The first minister has made it clear on a number of occasions that she has not broken the ministerial code,” he told BBC radio.