Lies, leaks and legal bills

How Sturgeon responded to Salmond’s five claims against her

1 Lying to parliament

Nicola Sturgeon has told Holyrood she did not know about the allegations facing Alex Salmond until April 2, 2018. Mr Salmond says he can prove she knew about them on March 29, as a meeting was arranged at her Holyrood office to discuss them. Ms Sturgeon has claimed she “forgot” about this meeting, attended by Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein. She said yesterday her memory was “not as vivid as

I’d like it to be” but she now remembered that any discussion was “in general terms”.

2 Wasting public money

When Mr Salmond finally won his judicial review in Jan 2019, he was awarded £512,250 in legal costs. Ms Sturgeon faces the claim that the Scottish government ignored legal advice despite knowing chances of success were slim. Ms Sturgeon said she had never seen lawyers advise a 100 per cent prospect of success, and that advice said the case was credible up to Dec 11, 2018. “Every time a government defends a legal action it is risking public funds, because there is never a guarantee you’re going to be successful,” she said.

3 Complainer’s name leaked

Mr Salmond has alleged that the name of a complainer was leaked by a senior official in Ms Sturgeon’s administration to Mr Aberdein. This could be a criminal offence. The claim has been corroborated by Kevin Pringle, the SNP’S former chief spin doctor, and Duncan Hamilton, a former MSP and Mr Salmond’s lawyer. Ms Sturgeon said she did “not accept” the leak had happened. Pressed why Mr Aberdein would lie, she said she was not “casting aspersions” on anybody’s “sincerity”, but there were “different accounts” of the meeting.

4 Offering to intervene

Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly said she did not offer to intervene in the investigation on behalf of Mr Salmond. However, he claims she did signal her willingness to help. Mr Hamilton has claimed he was present when she made the offer. “My clear recollection is that her words were, ‘If it comes to it, I will intervene’,” he said. Ms Sturgeon insisted she did not offer to intervene, but admitted she was perhaps “not as blunt” as she might have been. “I was perhaps trying to let a long-standing friend and colleague down gently,” she said.

5 Failing to record meetings

Under civil service rules, ministers have a duty to ensure meetings about government business are recorded. However, Ms Sturgeon’s meetings and calls with Mr Salmond in 2018 were not recorded. The row over the recording of meetings could be the easiest charge for opposition MSPS to prove. Ms Sturgeon said she had weighed up all aspects of the ministerial code, as well as the fact she was not supposed to be involved in the civil service inquiry, and came to a “defensible, and in my view appropriate” judgment.