Sturgeon considering whether to make advice on referendum public
NICOLA STURGEON has said her government is considering “carefully” whether legal advice regarding a second Scottish independence referendum can be made public.
However, with leading opposition politicians at Holyrood calling for the information to be put into the public domain, Ms Sturgeon stressed such a move could still risk breaching the ministerial code.
The calls for legal advice that Scottish Government Ministers have received to be disclosed comes in the wake of a recent ruling by information commissioner Daren Fitzhenry.
He said some information could be made public by June 10, though Scottish Ministers could still appeal against this decision.
Ms Sturgeon though, was clear she believed publishing legal advice would be a breach of the ministerial code.
Speaking as she insisted Scots would vote for independence if a second vote on leaving the UK was to take place, the First Minister told BBC Radio Scotland that the code contains provisions to prevent “Ministers like me discussing the content of legal advice”.
She told the interviewer: “If I was to do that today you would no doubt have me on tomorrow accusing me, in very legitimate journalistic terms I hasten to add, of breaching the ministerial code, so I’m not going to go into that.”
Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Donald Cameron MSP said: “The information commissioner has said clearly that the Scottish Government ought to publish the legal advice they have received on holding another divisive independence referendum.”