Sturgeon cleared in code breach inquiry
NICOLA STURGEON has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga.
An independent inquiry by James Hamilton QC rejected allegations that Scotland’s first minister deliberately misled Holyrood about when she knew of sexual harassment allegations against her predecessor.
In his detailed report, Mr Hamilton said he accepted Ms Sturgeon’s evidence she had never sought to mislead the Scottish parliament and had tried to avoid any appearance of interfering in her government’s internal inquiry.
Ms Sturgeon said she welcomed the ‘comprehensive, evidence-based and unequivocal’ conclusion that she did not breach the code, adding: ‘I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest.’
She called on opposition parties to respect the ruling and drop demands that she should quit. A planned noconfidence vote by Scottish Conservatives today is likely to fail after the Greens said they will not support it.
Ms Sturgeon referred herself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code following Mr Salmond’s successful legal challenge of the Scottish government’s botched investigation of the complaints against him.
Mr Hamilton’s inquiry was paused in 2019 to avoid prejudicing last year’s High Court trial which cleared Mr Salmond of 13 charges, including sexual assault and attempted rape.
Ms Sturgeon said members of a Holyrood committee investigating the handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond had decided she was ‘guilty’ before evidence was heard.