SALMOND TO TWIST THE KNIFE ... AGAIN
Devastating blow for Sturgeon as ex-First Minister to reveal new bombshell evidence that she misled parliament to 2nd inquiry
ALEX Salmond will this week launch a devastating second attack on Nicola Sturgeon – in a move which could force her to resign as First Minister.
He will give evidence in private tomorrow or on Tuesday to a second inquiry, set up to establish whether Ms Sturgeon has broken the Ministerial Code.
Last night, a source close to Mr
Salmond said: ‘He will be able to say things in private which he hasn’t been able to mention up until now.
‘It will likely be damning and devastating for Nicola Sturgeon.’
Appearing before a Holyrood inquiry on Friday, Mr Salmond launched an astonishing attack under oath on Ms Sturgeon’s leadership – and accused her of multiple breaches of the Ministerial Code and of misleading parliament.
He disputed her account of their meetings at her home, saying she was aware beforehand that they were arranged to discuss complaints to the Government about him. However, he said he was
unable to talk about some aspects of the crucial meetings because of legal restrictions. Now he will give evidence to the second inquiry led by James Hamilton, QC.
If this probe establishes that Ms Sturgeon broke even one of the rules governing ministerial conduct, she will face calls for her resignation – just weeks before the crucial Scottish parliament election.
Mr Salmond’s delivery of evidence to the Holyrood inquiry highlights the astonishing levels of bitterness that now exist between the former SNP leader and Ms Sturgeon – a pair who for many years seemed to have forged one of the most rock-solid partnerships in politics.
He also called for the resignations of Ms Sturgeon’s chief legal adviser, the Lord Advocate James Wolffe, and some of those closest to her, including her husband, the SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans and her chief of staff Liz Lloyd.
Mr Salmond said some in the SNP and Scottish Government had been involved in a ‘deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort’ to put him in prison.
Last night, sources confirmed he will speak directly to Mr Hamilton, the former director of public prosecutions in Ireland, by video link tomorrow or on Tuesday.
They said it could be even more devastating than the evidence he gave to the committee on Friday. That is because he will not be limited in what he can talk about by the Crown Office and Holyrood lawyers.
It is also understood that, crucially, Mr Hamilton has received evidence from Geoff Aberdein, Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff, whose evidence to the Holyrood committee could not be published.
If that corroborates Mr Salmond’s version of events, rather than Ms Sturgeon’s, it could dramatically increase pressure on the First
Minister. In other developments: l Former First Minister Henry McLeish warns Ms Sturgeon may have to show ‘humility’ and consider her future – as he did; l MSPs are set to ask Mr Salmond to hand over bombshell documents, which he claims reveal the Government’s plot against him; l Ms Sturgeon is likely to face tough questioning from MSPs as she prepares to give evidence to the Holyrood inquiry this week.
Mr Salmond finally gave evidence to the specially created harassment committee at Holyrood after a protracted wrangle over the publication of his evidence, which saw him twice pull out of appearances.
It was the first time he had spoken at length about the Government’s probe into sexual misconduct allegations against him.
After he was cleared of 13 charges against nine women in March last year, he said evidence that he had not been able to lead during his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh would ‘see the light of day’.
And after 11 months of silence, he is ready to deliver his second damning verdict on his successor in less than a week. Ms Sturgeon will again be in the dock over alleged Ministerial Code breaches, including over whether she misled parliament. She initially said Mr Salmond first told her of the allegations against him at her home on April 2, 2018.
She admitted months later she had been told at her office in parliament by Mr Aberdein, who set up a meeting with her on March 29.
Ms Sturgeon claimed to have initially forgotten about that conversation as it was ‘opportunistic’.
On Friday, Mr Salmond insisted her actions were not a mere slip, but a potentially career-ending breach of the Ministerial Code.
He told the Holyrood committee: ‘Either the meeting on March 29 was not forgotten about and parliament was deliberately misled or, alternatively, it was forgotten about and parliament was not informed when Nicola was reminded of it.
‘My submission says that those are, to me, clear breaches of the Ministerial Code.
‘What happens as a result is not for me. It is for this committee, for Mr James Hamilton and for others.
‘All I can do is come here and tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
Ms Sturgeon also faces major questions over why she did not immediately provide an account of her meeting with Mr Salmond to civil servants, and over whether she wasted taxpayers’ money pursuing a judicial review against the advice of government lawyers. The Holyrood
committee will look at whether she breached the Ministerial Code.
But it is Mr Hamilton’s conclusion which will carry the most weight.
He is expected to deliver his report to Ms Sturgeon next week.
Sources close to Mr Salmond believe his evidence to Mr Hamilton will be more devastating than when he faced the committee.
One said: ‘Alex will be able to go further in his evidence, as he is not acting under some bar – as is the case with the committee – imposed
‘Alex will be able to go further in his evidence’ ‘It’s whether the claims can be corroborated’
by the Crown Office. Mr Hamilton has, of course, not redacted any of his evidence (unlike the committee), or Geoff Aberdein’s evidence, and Alex will certainly be happy to answer any questions he has to ask.
‘But, as he said on Friday, it will then be up to Mr Hamilton and the committee.’
One committee source said: ‘It comes down to whether the claims Alex Salmond makes can be corroborated. We know that James Hamilton has spoken to Geoff Aberdein and others.
‘If they have corroborated Mr Salmond’s claims, it’s going to be very difficult for the First Minister to rebut allegations she breached the Ministerial Code.
‘She can’t be forced to resign for breaching the code, but it makes it very difficult.
‘The whole SNP pitch has always been, “We’re better than those at Westminster”, contrasting Nicola Sturgeon with Boris Johnson. That goes out of the window if she’s found to have breached the Ministerial
Code and doesn’t resign.’ Mr Salmond took legal action against the Government in the belief its investigation into him was unfair.
He won the judicial review, with a judge ruling the Government’s investigation had been ‘tainted by apparent bias’.
However, the Government has refused to publish legal advice, which would prove whether it pursued the case against the judg
ment of its own lawyers. Writing in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross warns that Ms Sturgeon can no longer hide behind a wall of secrecy, after initially promising to ‘co-operate fully’ with the inquiry.
He writes: ‘Her position is untenable if the SNP Government continues to obstruct crucial evidence.’
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader and committee member, said: ‘If the First Minister is found to have breached the Ministerial Code by misleading parliament then there is no doubt that she should resign.’
However, Ms Sturgeon said in parliament earlier this month: ‘I do not consider that I breached the Ministerial Code – I will make that case very, very robustly.’