Sturgeon fights for political life

Nicola Sturgeon was last night facing calls to quit as First Minister amid bombshell evidence she offered to assist Alex Salmond in his sexual harassment case.

The first minister was fighting for her political life following a raft of dramatic developments ahead of her crunch appearance in front of the Holyrood inquiry into the scandal today.

The committee last night published submissions from Duncan Hamilton – a former SNP MSP and lawyer for Mr Salmond – and Kevin Pringle, a former SNP communications director.

Both men corroborated several claims from Mr Salmond about his meetings with Ms Sturgeon, including allegations she had initially offered to intervene in the government’s harassment investigation before changing her mind.

They also both agreed the name of one of the women who had made the allegations was passed to Mr Salmond’s former chief-of-staff Geoff Aberdein in an apparent breach of confidence.

Ms Sturgeon last week told MSPS that “to the very best of my knowledge I do not think that happened”.

She has also repeatedly insisted she only learned of the complaints against Mr Salmond at a meeting at her home on Apri 2, 2018

– despite accepting she had met Mr Aberdein at her Holyrood office on March 29 that year.

Mr Pringle and Mr Hamilton said they had taken part in a conference call with Mr Aberdein ahead of the March 29 meeting, and said he was clear that “the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the two complaints”.

Mr Hamilton was present at the meeting on April 2, and said that “when we arrived, everyone in the room knew exactly why we were there – no introduction to the subject was needed and no one was in any doubt what we were there to discuss”.

The former MSP also insisted Ms Sturgeon had offered to assist her predecessor as first minister in seeking mediation, with the complainers saying she had told him that “if it comes to it, I will intervene”.

However, Ms Sturgeon told MSPS in January 2019 that “I was always clear that I had no role in the process – I did not seek to intervene in it at any stage”.

In a separate development, secret legal advice released yesterday laid bare the chaos behind the scenes in the months running up to the Scottish Government conceding their civil case against Mr Salmond in January 2019.

Mr Salmond took the government to court in 2018 and it was agreed the internal probe, which destroyed his friendship with Nicola Sturgeon, had been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.

He was separately acquitted of sexual offences after a trial last year.

Mr Salmond has accused several SNP figures, including Ms Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell and Chief of Staff Liz Lloyd, of plotting against him to have him jailed.

The SNP and Sturgeon have denied the conspiracy claims.

The raft of new documents showed the Scottish Government was given several warnings by its lawyers that it was likely to lose the judicial review of its handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond.

It confirmed their two counsel told them the revelation that a senior official eventually tasked with conducting the investigation had previously met and briefed two complainers against Mr Salmond had devastating implications for their case.

The Scottish Government’s harassment policy had stated that any investigating officer “will have had no prior involvement with any aspect of the matter being raised”.

The documents reveal that on October 31, 2018, two months before the Scottish Government’s decision to concede on December 31, the advice warned the disclosure the investigating officer had previously spoken to the complainers presented “a very real problem indeed”.

It took the Scottish Government until January 8 to concede the case – a week before the full judicial review was due to start.

Mr Salmond, who was awarded maximum legal costs of £512,250 in part because of the late concession, has alleged that the government had hoped a looming criminal trial would “ride to the rescue” and prevent its unlawful investigation suffering a “cataclysmic” civil court defeat.

The Scottish Tories last night seized on the revelations to demand Ms Sturgeon’s resignation.

Party leader Douglas Ross said: “Credible witnesses have now backed up Alex Salmond’s claims and the legal advice shows the government knew months in advance that the judicial review was doomed, but they still went on to waste more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money.

“There is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament and broke the ministerial code on numerous counts.

“The weight of the evidence is overwhelming. Nicola Sturgeon must resign. We will be submitting a vote of no confidence in the first minister.”

A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon responded: “The first minister will address all of the issues raised – and much more besides – at the committee, while the independent adviser on the ministerial code will report in due course.

“But to call a vote of no confidence in the middle of a pandemic, before hearing a single word of the first minister’s evidence, is utterly irresponsible.

“It is for the public to decide who they want to govern Scotland and – while we continue to fight the Covid pandemic – with the election campaign starting in just 20 days, that is precisely what they will be able to do.”

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There is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament