Ms Sturgeon says the suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond is "absurd".

"That claim is not based in any fact," she says.

She says what happened is simple.

"A number of women made serious complaints about Alex Salmond's behaviour. The government, despite the mistake it undoubtedly made, tried to do the right thing.

Ms Sturgeon says a court and a jury did their jobs and now this committee and an independent investigation are considering what happened and why.

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Ms Sturgeon turns to the legal advice given during the judicial review, which was published last night.

The first minister says it is clear from that advice that the government had very strong prospects of defending Mr Salmond's initial challenge, but that changed over a two-month period from late October to late December.

She says the concerns raised by counsel over the role of the investigating officer did cause pause, but as late as 11 December the view of law officers was that there was no question or need to drop the case.

The Lord Advocate had made it clear that even if the case was uncertain it was important that it was heard, she says.

However, she says the decision to concede was taken when senior counsel made it clear that he did not think the government had a stateable case.

The first minister says she did not record the meeting with Alex Salmond on 2 April immediately because she did not want to compromise the independence or the confidentiality of the process.

Nicola Sturgeon says the terms of the procedure excluded her from any investigation into a former minister and she should not even have known an investigation was under way.

In her view, any undue influence on the procedure would have been more likely to arise if those conducting the investigation had been informed that she knew about it.

She says her judgement on that changed when Mr Salmond made it clear he was seriously considering legal action and she felt she had to inform her permanent secretary.

The first minister says she informed her permanent secretary that she had no intention of intervening in the process, and that she did not do so.

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The first minister moves on to the conversation she had with Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, on 29 March 2018.

Ms Sturgeon says she has no wish to question the sincerity of Mr Aberdein's recollection, but that hers was different and she did not attach the same significance to that discussion.

She says the purpose of the conversation was to arrange a meeting with Mr Salmond as quickly as possible. Mr Aberdein did indicate that a harassment type issue had arisen, she says, but this was in general terms.

Since an approach by Sky News in November 2017, the first minister "had harboured a lingering suspicion that such issues in relation to Mr Salmond might rear their head".

She says hearing of a potential issue would not have been "a massive shock".

The first minister says what she recalls most strongly about the conversation was Mr Salmond's welfare being raised and that the former first minister might be considering resigning from the SNP.

She says she wishes her memory of the conversation with Mr Aberdein was "more vivid".

"It was the detail of the complaints under the procedure that I was given on 2 April that was significant and indeed shocking," she says.

Ms Sturgeon says Mr Salmond asked her to read a letter he had received from the Scottish government's permanent secretary about the sexual harassment complaints made by two individuals.

It made clear they were being investigated under the procedure adopted during 2017 and set out the details of what he was alleged to have done.

"Reading this letter is a moment in my life that I will never forget," the first minister says.

Ms Sturgeon says that although Mr Salmond denied the allegations, he gave his account of one of the incidents - which he said he had apologised for.

Ms Sturgeon points out that at the time Mr Salmond was giving her his account privately, his chief of staff Geoff Aberdein and Duncan Hamilton - a former SNP MSP and lawyer for Mr Salmond - were doing the same with her chief of staff.

"Again, this would seem unnecessary if she and I had known everything in advance."

Ms Sturgeon focuses on the issues around her contact with Alex Salmond on 2 April 2018, and her contact three days earlier with his former chief of staff.

The first minister says Mr Salmond claimed the meeting on 2 April in her home took place with a shared understanding of the issues for discussion.

"In other words that he turned up to the meeting believing I already knew everything."

The first minister says this is a change in Mr Salmond's position, as a spokesman had issued a comment on his behalf on 14 January 2019 which said: "Alex has no certainty as to the state of knowledge of the first minister before then."

The first minister says when Mr Salmond arrived at her house he insisted that he speak to her entirely privately.

"That would have seemed unnecessary had there been a shared understanding on the part of all of us," she said.

Image source, PA Media

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Nicola Sturgeon is focusing on her account of two meetings when she first found out about allegations against Alex Salmond.

This is the most dangerous part of this complex story for the first minister.

This isn't just a matter of a few days. If Ms Sturgeon knew what the second meeting was about, it’s claimed she would have known it was government business and she should have reported it to civil servants at the time. That didn't happen.

Ms Sturgeon is telling the committee she did so to protect the process - and defending claims it was a party, not government matter.

Image source, Getty Images

As a result of a very serious mistake that was made in the investigations against Alex Salmond two women were failed and taxpayers' money was lost, Ms Sturgeon tells MSPs.

"I deeply regret that," she says.

Ms Sturgeon adds: "Although I was not aware of the error at the time, I am the head of the Scottish government so I want to take this opportunity to say sorry to the two women involved and to the wider public."

The first minister acknowledges that she deserves to be scrutinised, but points out that she referred herself to the independent adviser on the ministerial code, James Hamilton.

His findings are still awaited.

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Committee convener Linda Fabiani welcomes the first minister, who makes her affirmation before her opening statement to MSPs.

Nicola Sturgeon says the spotlight shone on historic workplace harassment in late 2017 was "long overdue".

Ms Sturgeon says it was right for her government at that time to review processes and sort out any gaps or weaknesses, and put in place a procedure that would allow complaints, including historic ones, to be investigated.

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

On top of the Covid crisis, Nicola Sturgeon now has a major political crisis to deal with as well.

The Conservatives' call for her resignation, backed up with plans for a vote of no confidence, is a major escalation in political tensions at Holyrood.

If she was to lose a confidence vote, she would be expected to resign as first minister.

The SNP does not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament - the opposition is strong enough to vote down the government, if it so chooses.

However, both Labour and the Liberal Democrats want to wait to hear the first minister's evidence to the Holyrood inquiry before deciding their positions.

My sense is the Greens would not try to oust the first minister before they have seen the findings of two inquiries into her handling of harassment complaints.

That could help to sustain her in office, although the parliamentary arithmetic would still be tight.

All of this with just over nine weeks to go to the Holyrood election — where the public will give their verdict on all parties and whoever leads them.

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Alex Salmond’s appearance in front of the committee on Friday was his first public statement since he had been cleared of sexual assault charges 11 months earlier.

During a six-hour session, Mr Salmond called on the head of Scotland’s civil service - Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans - and the head of the prosecution service, Lord Advocate James Wolffe, to resign.

• Alex Salmond says there is 'no doubt' Nicola Sturgeon broke ministerial code

He accused Ms Sturgeon of breaching the ministerial code and said some of her closest allies had made “a deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort” to drive him from public life.

Ms Sturgeon has previously dismissed Salmond’s claims as “wild conspiracy” and denied breaching the code.

She now has the opportunity to give a detailed rebuttal.

The committee was set up to investigate the Scottish government's botched handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond.

It has heard a series of allegations about the conduct of the Scottish government officials, advisers and the first minister herself.

Ms Sturgeon will seek to explain how she "forgot" about a meeting with Mr Salmond's chief of staff in which she was told of the allegations against the former first minister.

She will also be asked about what Mr Salmond called a malicious and concerted plot against him from several people close to the first minister - including her husband, who is the SNP's chief executive, and her Scottish government chief of staff.

Ms Sturgeon will be pressed by MSPs on why parts of the new harassment complaints policy proved to be fundamentally flawed and why her government defended themselves in their legal fight with Mr Salmond long after advice from their legal counsel that they were likely to lose.

In addition, there are claims that the name of one of the complainants was revealed during the government investigation, which would be a serious breach of confidentiality.

Mr Salmond also claims that there was a "criminal leak" of part of the contents of the Permanent Secretary’s Decision report to the Daily Record newspaper.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

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This is the most serious allegation for Ms Sturgeon. Mr Salmond has said he believes Ms Sturgeon definitely broke the code. Her political opponents say if she did, she will have to quit.

The allegations focus on when she found out about the Scottish government investigation into Mr Salmond. She initially claimed it was 2 April 2018, but since then another meeting on 29 March, when it's claimed she was told the details, has emerged.

This isn't just a matter of a few days. If Ms Sturgeon knew what the second meeting was about, she would have known it was government business and she should have reported it to civil servants at the time. That didn't happen.

Mr Salmond has said Ms Sturgeon is guilty of several breaches of the code in relation to these meetings.

Ms Sturgeon has denied breaking the code and she will explain her version of events today.

Read more from Nick

On Tuesday evening, under pressure from opposition MSPs, the Scottish government published emails showing it continued its doomed legal fight with Mr Salmond despite its lawyers advising it was likely to lose.

The documents showed a senior lawyer was "very concerned indeed" about the case in October 2018, with the government's counsel urging it to admit defeat by 6 December.

But it did not do so until January 2019, when it had to pay Mr Salmond's legal fees of more than £500,000 - on top of its own costs - after admitting its investigation into the harassment allegations had been unlawful.

Mr Salmond said last week that continuing with the court fight against him despite legal advice that it should concede the case was a breach of the ministerial code because the first minister has a duty to avoid illegality on the part of the government she leads.

Read more.

Nicola Sturgeon will give evidence to a cross-party committee set up to investigate the Scottish government’s internal inquiry into sexual harassment complaints against former first minister Alex Salmond.

Mr Salmond has accused Ms Sturgeon of misleading parliament over when she first knew of the allegations against him.

Ms Sturgeon will also face scrutiny about why her government continued its defence in the judicial review that Mr Salmond launched into the harassment complaints process, despite its own lawyers advising that it was likely to lose.

The Scottish government conceded the case in January 2019 after a court process which cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Image source, PA Media

Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of Nicola Sturgeon's evidence session in the Scottish Parliament.

The first minister is facing calls to resign following the publication last night of new documents which raised further questions about her involvement in the Alex Salmond saga.

The government has published emails showing it continued a doomed legal fight with Mr Salmond despite its lawyers advising it was likely to lose.

Further evidence from two other witnesses has also called into question Ms Sturgeon's version of events.

A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said she would address the issues "and much more besides" when she faces MSPs from 9am.

Read more here.