MSPS accuse former permanent secretary Evans of discourtesy
The civil servant who was a central character in the handling of harassment complaints made against Alex Salmond has been accused of discourtesy by MSPS in an extraordinary letter after refusing an invitation to give evidence at a Holyrood committee.
Leslie Evans, the former permanent secretary, was invited to give evidence on her time in the role to the Scottish Parliament’s finance committee. However, she has rejected this invitation, leaving MSPS furious and “extremely disappointed”.
Ms Evans, who was replaced by John-paul Marks earlier this year, is on a period of leave following her departure before her retirement at the end of this month.
After an extended period of discussions while the civil servant was still in post, and assurances the committee would not revisit the issues of the Salmond Inquiry and her handling of the investigation of the harassment complaints, the office of the permanent secretary turned down the offer.
In a letter, officials state Ms Evans is “effectively no longer a post-holder within the Scottish Government and is not able to speak on behalf of or represent the views of ministers”. However, MSPS on the finance and public administration committee said this was a “failure to engage directly” with the committee, and said the evidence session was intended to be a personal reflection of the civil servant’s time in the role.
In a rare, excoriating letter, committee convener Kenneth Gibson, an SNP MSP, said the committee was “extremely disappointed at the discourtesy shown to the Parliament”.
He said: “Indeed, as we indicated in our invitation, this session was due to focus on broad issues within the committee’s newly-added public administration remit, such as how government functions, the capacity and capability of the civil service, culture, and how policies are developed and implemented.”
He continued: “We are therefore extremely disappointed at the discourtesy shown to the Parliament by your failure to engage directly with the committee at any stage regarding our invitation, despite our best efforts. When we finally received a response, it was not from you.”