Sturgeon could face inquiry

● Claims first minister breached code with meetings and phone calls

Nicola Sturgeon could face a misconduct probe over how she dealt with Alex Salmond and the sexual harassment claims made against him. The first minister yesterday said she would consider any requests for an investigation after claims that she breached Scottish Government rules when she held a series of meetings with Mr Salmond, the ex-FM and Aberdeenshire West MSP.

At First Minister’s Questions, Ms Sturgeon admitted that her taxpayerfunded special adviser, Liz Lloyd, had been at a meeting she had with Mr Salmond at the first minister’s home in Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government employee was there despite claiming the meeting, at which Mr Salmond notified her of the complaints made against him, was in her role as SNP leader.

The first minister also admitted that she did not inform the head of the Scottish civil service, Leslie Evans, of the meeting on April 2, until she had another meeting with Mr Salmond two months later.

At Holyrood, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard drew attention to a section of the ministerial code which states that if ministers “find themselves discussing official business” while at a non-government event such as a social occasion, they should make a record of it”.

The code adds: “Any significant content…should be passed back to their private offices as soon as possible after the event, who should arrange for the basic facts of such meetings to be recorded.” Ms Sturgeon had three meetings and two phone calls with Mr Salmond after the complaints against him were made.

Mr Leonard called on the first minister to refer herself to the independent panel, which investigates potential breaches of the ministerial code.

Ms Sturgeon said she would be “perfectly happy” for an inquiry to be held into the handling of the complaints, adding she would also consider referring herself to a ministerial code panel.

Stand-in Tory leader Jackson Carlaw called for a Holyrood inquiry into the matter and opposition MSPs met last night to discuss that possibility.

Mr Carlaw said Ms Lloyd’s presence at Ms Sturgeon’s meeting with her predecessor drove “a coach and horses” through her claim that her meeting with Mr Salmond was in a party capacity.

Earlier this week, Mr Salmond won his judicial review against the Scottish Government after a judge ruled its investigation had been “procedurally unfair” and “tainted with apparent bias”.

In a letter to supporters, Mr Salmond claimed there was a plot to remove him as a “political threat”.

Nicola Sturgeon: Held meetings