STURGEON IN THE CLEAR
»Hamilton report says FM »Tory no confidence vote didn’t break ministerial code slammed as ‘political stunt’
NICOLA Sturgeon has been cleared of lying to Parliament following an investigation into her Government’s botched Alex Salmond probe.
Irish lawyer James Hamilton decided she didn’t breach the ministerial code of conduct after a lengthy probe into her meetings with her former friend and ally Salmond in 2018.
Hamilton concluded: “I am of the opinion that the First Minister did not breach the provisions of the ministerial code in respect of any of these matters.”
Sturgeon welcomed the findings and accused the Tories of “a political stunt” for pushing ahead with a no confidence vote at Holyrood today.
NICOLA Sturgeon has been cleared of lying to Parliament following an investigation into her Government’s botched probe into Alex Salmond.
Irish lawyer James Hamilton cleared her of breaching the ministerial code of conduct after a lengthy probe into her meetings with her former friend and ally Salmond in 2018.
The findings are a major boost for her – and they leave a Tory plan to topple her today with a vote of no confidence at Holyrood in tatters.
Sturgeon welcomed the investigation’s findings and blasted the Conservatives for pushing ahead with a no-confidence vote, saying: “This is a political stunt being brought forward by the Tories”
The Scottish Government has been under fire over its disastrous investigation into complaints of sexual misconduct against Salmond in 2018.
After Salmond pursued a judicial review, the Government conceded that its probe had been unlawful.
A report of the Holyrood Inquiry, which is said to have ruled that Sturgeon misled MSPs, will be published this morning.
But the probe headed by Hamilton had been looking specifically at whether Sturgeon breached the ministerial code of conduct.
If he had found a breach, it could have ended her career.
Central to the probe by Hamilton, a former prosecutor, were the meetings between Salmond and Sturgeon during the live investigation in 2018.
She met him on April 2 of that year, where she said she learned of the allegations for the first time, and had follow-up summits and phone calls.
Sturgeon admitted forgetting about a meeting with Geoff Aberdein, Salmond’s former chief of staff, days before the April meeting.
Her political opponents accused her of concealing the Aberdein meeting and of failing to disclose the first Salmond summit to the Government.
But after a wide-ranging investigation, Hamilton cleared the First Minister.
He considered her failure to record her meetings with Salmond to the Government, as well as examining claims she may have “attempted to influence” the Salmond investigation.
He also looked at whether the First Minister “misled” Holyrood over her meetings with her predecessor and Aberdein.
Finally, he investigated the Government’s response to Salmond’s judicial review
On this matter, Sturgeon’s critics say the Government pushed ahead with a legal defence after being warned by counsel they would lose.
Hamilton concluded: “I am of the opinion that the First Minister did not breach the provisions of the Ministerial Code in respect of any of these matters.”
Sturgeon said: “I welcome the conclusions of James Hamilton’s independent investigation, which are comprehensive, evidence-based and unequivocal.
“Mr Hamilton has considered all of the allegations against me, and I am happy that his report’s findings clear me of any breach of the ministerial code.
“I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest. As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that.
“Prior to its publication, opposition politicians stressed the importance of respecting and accepting the outcome of Mr Hamilton’s independent inquiry, and I committed wholeheartedly to doing so. Now that he has reported, it is incumbent on them to do likewise.”
She added: “Today I want, once again, to remind people that at the heart of this case were women who had the courage to come forward and complain. That they were let down by the Scottish Government’s handling of their complaints is not in dispute, and I again apologise to them for that.
“I was determined, however, at the time these complaints emerged that they should not be swept under the carpet, and that I would not intervene in the process.
“Had I done so, as requested by Alex Salmond, it would – as Mr Hamilton observes – ‘undoubtedly have been seen as a partisan and political interference’ which ‘would undoubtedly have undermined public confidence in the processes of government to a much greater extent than in fact eventually happened’.”
The Tories now appear to have zero chance of winning a no-confidence vote against Sturgeon today.
Green Party leader Patrick Harvie confirmed his MSPs would not back the Tories, saying: “Unlike other political parties, we’ve said all along that we would respect due process, we therefore welcome the publication of James Hamilton’s independent report. It retains credibility in this process, unlike the Parliamentary Committee which has repeatedly sabotaged its own authority and betrayed the trust of original complainers.
“Mr Hamilton has clearly concluded that the First Minister did not breach the ministerial code, so we will not support the vote of no confidence being pushed by the Tories.
“In lodging a vote of no
confidence before this report was published, just as they called for the First Minister’s resignation before she even gave evidence to the Parliamentary Committee, the Tories have shown that they have no interest in establishing the truth.” Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who has criticised Sturgeon over the botched Government probe, fell short of offering support to the Tory vote plan, saying: “Unlike others, we have been clear from the outset that we would not prejudge the outcome of this inquiry.” But Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: “The First Minister has been given a pass because it has been judged her ‘failure of recollection’ was ‘not deliberate’. “I respect Mr Hamilton and his judgement but we cannot agree with that assessment. Nicola Sturgeon did not suddenly turn forgetful. “If Nicola Sturgeon won’t accept responsibility, then I urge opposition parties to back our Vote of no confidence.”