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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon gave eight hours of evidence to the Holyrood committee earlier this month.

She rejected suggestions she broke the ministerial code and said she acted properly, did not mislead parliament, and followed legal advice.

Ms Sturgeon described allegations of a conspiracy against Alex Salmond as “absurd”.

The first minster said she initially forgot about a key meeting with one of Mr Salmond’s aides – and that Mr Salmond’s comments during a meeting at her home on 2 April 2018 “obliterated” what came before.

She denied talking to her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP’s chief executive, about the allegations - even though she thought Mr Salmond might resign from the SNP. She says Mr Murrell may have mistakenly assumed the meeting was on government, not party, business.

The first minister was not drawn on resignation, but said she will follow the “spirit and letter” of the ministerial code and that the office of first minister is bigger and more important than any individual.

In six hours of testimony, Scotland's longest-serving first minister set out what he believed was a malicious plot against him by key figures in the SNP and the Scottish government - both of which he used to lead.

He accused former colleagues of pressurising police and potential witnesses to build a criminal case against him - claims they deny.

For their parts in the botched handling of the original harassment complaints against him, Mr Salmond called for the resignation of Scotland's top civil servant and its top law officer.

He also said he had "no doubt" that Nicola Sturgeon had breached the ministerial code.

But he stopped short of demanding his former ally, friend and political partner stand down despite arguing that she had repeatedly broken the rules for ministers.

He said her fate should be decided by others after both inquiries have delivered their verdicts.

A Holyrood committee has examined the Scottish government's handling of the harassment complaints against Alex Salmond. It is due to publish its report tomorrow.

Mr Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon both gave evidence to the committee during marathon sessions.

The inquiry by James Hamilton examined whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code - which sets out how ministers should behave - by interfering with the civil service investigation into the allegations, or by lying to parliament.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent

MSPs will hold a vote of no confidence in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tomorrow afternoon. It is being brought by the Scottish Conservatives.

The Tories have been calling for Ms Sturgeon to resign since leaks emerged last week from the Holyrood committee’s final report - which is due to be published tomorrow morning.

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A narrow majority of MSPs on that committee are expected to conclude that Ms Sturgeon misled them by giving an "inaccurate account" of what happened when she met Mr Salmond at her home on 2 April 2018.

The first minister stands by all the evidence she has given. Her spokesperson has accused the committee of having “political motives”.

Crucial, in all of this, are the Scottish Greens. Their backing is likely to allow the first minister to ride out any parliamentary vote on her future (remember, the SNP doesn’t have a majority).

The Greens want to see the final reports of the two inquiries considering the conduct of Nicola Sturgeon. We should have both by 8am tomorrow.

Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that she met Alex Salmond on 2 April 2018 not as first minister of Scotland, but in her capacity as SNP leader.

Which “hat” she had on matters in the context of the ministerial code because Section 4.22 states that the basic facts of government meetings with “external individuals” should be recorded - including a list of those present and the reasons for the meeting.

None of Ms Sturgeon’s meetings with her predecessor were formally recorded. She said she met him on 2 April because she suspected that he may be about to resign from the SNP.

However, Mr Salmond says this position is “ridiculous” and that “all participants in that meeting were fully aware of what the meeting was about and why it had been arranged”.

Ms Sturgeon’s husband, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, muddied the waters somewhat by appearing to suggest that she never discussed the matter with him because it was government business - before later saying this was “speculation”.

The first minister insists that the 2 April meeting and indeed the two which followed were all “in my capacity as party leader”, and says that throughout her focus was on “trying to protect the confidentiality and integrity” of the complaints process.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that if she had immediately told senior civil servants that she knew about the investigation, then she feared it could have coloured their deliberations one way or the other.

And she said that had any record of the meetings appeared in official papers or her diary, then that would have raised questions - potentially risking the confidentiality of the process.

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A central question has been when Ms Sturgeon learned of the two internal complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond, and whether she has been straight with MSPs about it.

Her opponents say she has not - and that this should cost her her job, as Section 1.3 of the ministerial code states that "ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the first minister".

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs on several occasions that she first heard about the complaints from Mr Salmond himself, at a meeting at her Glasgow home on 2 April, 2018.

She subsequently acknowledged that the subject came up during a meeting a few days earlier with Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein.

The first minister said she had forgotten the earlier meeting – but still insists that she learned of the substance and detail of the complaints from Mr Salmond himself.

She said this encounter was “seared on my memory” and had “somehow overwritten in my mind a much more fleeting, opportunistic meeting that took place a few days earlier”.

Her predecessor says this claim is “untenable” and “simply untrue”.

Mr Salmond said Mr Aberdein’s evidence is that he "personally discussed the existence of the complaints and summarised the substance" of them in a "pre-arranged meeting" on 29 March - and had shared this information with Mr Salmond and others at the time.

This timeline shows some of the key dates.

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

On the one extreme, James Hamilton could find that the first minister broke the ministerial code by knowingly misleading parliament.

That would be a very difficult outcome for Nicola Sturgeon and there would be loud calls for her resignation.

On the other extreme, he could completely exonerate Ms Sturgeon.

That would have the opposite effect. The calls we are hearing from the Conservatives for the first minister to step down would sound a lot more hollow.

But there is a third option. His conclusions could be a bit less definitive, a bit of a fudge.

The first minister is probably safe in that scenario, but we could expect some opposition parties to carry on raising issues of integrity and trust as we march towards the election in May.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

We should see the report from James Hamilton in the next few hours.

It was delivered to the Scottish government this morning. There are currently legal checks taking place and people who are going to be named are being contacted.

Nobody is giving anything away at this stage - but senior figures I’ve spoken to sound optimistic (without having seen the report).

But a lot in this story has been about interpretation. It’s quite possible that will be the case here too.

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A separate inquiry by a Holyrood committee into the Scottish government's handling of the harassment allegations against Alex Salmond is due to publish its report on Tuesday morning.

It has already emerged, via a leak last week, that the report will conclude that Ms Sturgeon gave an "inaccurate account" of what happened when she met Mr Salmond at her home on 2 April 2018.

It is understood MSPs have voted by five (all opposition MSPs) to four (SNP MSPs) that the first minister misled the committee.

The report will also say it is "hard to believe" that Ms Sturgeon did not know of concerns of inappropriate behaviour by Mr Salmond before November 2017.

Ms Sturgeon has insisted she stands by all of the evidence she gave to the committee and descibed the leak as a "very partisan" attack amid renewed pressure from political opponents.

The Scottish Conservatives have called for Ms Sturgeon to resign and are expected to push for a vote of no-confidence in the first minister.

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Born in Dublin in 1949, James Hamilton studied history and political science at Trinity College, then law at Kings Inns in the city. He began practising as a barrister in 1973.

He then worked for 18 years as a legal advisor in the Irish Office of the Attorney General, and was actively involved in the lead-up to the Good Friday Agreement.

He served as Director of Public Prosecutions – the head of the Irish prosecution service – from 1999 to 2011.

Mr Hamilton was also a member of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, an expert advisory body on issues of constitutional law, and prepared a range of reports in countries including Russia, Serbia, Bosnia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

He has also reported for the European Union on anti-corruption and criminal justice matters in Turkey, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and other countries, and was president of the International Association of Prosecutors from 2010 to 2013.

Mr Hamilton was appointed as an independent advisor on the ministerial code by Alex Salmond in 2013.

This is his first ministerial code report in Scotland, although he conducted a similarly high-profile investigation of Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones in 2018 over the death of former minister Carl Sargeant.

The report cleared Mr Jones of breaching the code – but days later he announced he would be standing down.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Because this inquiry report is from Nicola Sturgeon’s independent adviser on the ministerial code, it’s going to be very hard to dismiss any of its findings for either side.

If it does conclude that Ms Sturgeon broke the ministerial code, it is going to heap pressure on her over the next few days.

But we don’t know if that’s what it’s going to say. The whole process has been highly secretive, as you would expect it to be.

We’ve had no real indication as to where James Hamilton is going with it.

Image source, Mary Evans Picture Library

James Hamilton, Ireland's former director of public prosecutions, will determine if the first minister breached the code by interfering with the civil service investigation into the allegations against Alex Salmond, or by lying to parliament.

His key focus was the contact Nicola Sturgeon had with her predecessor during the Scottish government’s botched investigation, which included two meetings at her home in Glasgow.

Ms Sturgeon ordered the review herself, in January 2019, after the Scottish government conceded that its probe into allegations of sexual misconduct made against Mr Salmond had been unlawful.

The inquiry was put on hold after Mr Salmond was charged, but resumed following his acquittal.

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

There is a lot resting on James Hamilton’s report. Nicola Sturgeon has effectively placed her reputation and her political future in his hands.

Alex Salmond has accused her of multiple breaches of the ministerial code, including misleading Parliament over what she knew and when. She has denied wrongdoing.

It is for Mr Hamilton to judge and, if rules have been broken, to recommend sanctions.

The report will undergo legal and data protection checks by the Scottish government before publication.

Ms Sturgeon has previously committed to releasing it on the day the government receives it.

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The findings of an independent inquiry into the first minister’s handling of harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond are expected to be published this afternoon.

The inquiry by Ireland’s former chief prosecutor James Hamilton had to decide whether or not Nicola Sturgeon broke conduct rules for ministers.

The report on a second inquiry, conducted by a Holyrood committee, is due to be published on Tuesday morning.

It was leaked last week that the MSPs have voted - by five to four - that Ms Sturgeon misled their inquiry during her evidence session earlier this month.

The first minister has insisted she stands by all the evidence she gave to the committee earlier this month, amid calls by the Scottish Conservatives for her to resign.