If FM misled she must resign, says MSP
NICOLA Sturgeon must resign if she is found to have misled the Scottish Parliament, a senior MSP has said.
The First Minister told Holyrood she first heard of complaints of sexual misconduct against Alex Salmond on April 2, 2018. It was later revealed the SNP leader had been made aware of the allegations on March 29 of that year – four days earlier.
Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has called for the probe into the conduct of the First Minister by independent advisers to the ministerial code to be widened. He said it should include whether Sturgeon misled Parliament and if that is the case she should resign. The Scottish Government’s process for dealing with the allegations against Salmond was ruled unlawful by the Court of Session and resulted in a settlement of more than £500,000 in the former first minister’s favour.
Cole-Hamilton wrote in the Edinburgh Evening News: “I’ve asked for the remit to be expanded to look at her actions under Section 1(c) of the code, to ascertain whether she has misled Parliament. If she has, then that’s a resignation matter.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The First Minister stands by what she has said to Parliament and by her written evidence to the committee.”