Six months on, Sturgeon diary still ‘secret’

NICOLA Sturgeon is embroiled in a new secrecy row after failing to disclose details of her meetings and travel arrangements.

The Scottish Government is supposed to publish information on all ministerial engagements, accommodation, travel – such as car journeys – and gifts. But no monthly records have been updated since last October.

It means the public are in the dark about the meetings Miss Sturgeon and her ministers held during the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, and when she stepped up lockdown curbs during the Omicron wave. Neil Bibby, Scottish Labour’s parliamentary business spokesman, said ‘serious questions need to be asked about why the First Minister’s diary has not been published for so long’. He said: ‘This is yet another example of secrecy at the heart of this SNP Government.’

Conservative MSP Annie Wells said publishing the documents was ‘crucial to seeing who ministers are meeting with and if there are any costs that taxpayers will ultimately be responsible for’. The Scottish Government said its ‘publication schedule was delayed’ due to the Covid recovery response, adding: ‘We are working hard to address this.’