Salmond inquiry getting 'very few clear answers'
- Published
Nicola Sturgeon has denied conspiring with or against her predecessor
The Holyrood inquiry into the botched handling of complaints against Alex Salmond by the Scottish government is receiving "very few clear answers".
Convener Linda Fabiani hit out at "delay, prevarication and obfuscation" by key players involved in the inquiry.
Mr Salmond is yet to make a written submission, and Ms Fabiani said what had been put forward by the government "lacks detail and indeed usefulness".
She said this was "both deeply problematic and deeply disrespectful".
Ministers have insisted they are cooperating fully with the inquiry, while Mr Salmond's lawyers have said he needs permission from the courts to submit certain information.
The Scottish government accepted that its handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond had been unlawful after the former first minister launched judicial review proceedings at the Court of Session.
An internal Scottish government investigation had upheld two complaints against Mr Salmond, but the decision report was thrown out after procedural flaws in how the probe was carried out.
The government had to pay Mr Salmond more than £500,000 in legal expenses as a result, and a Holyrood inquiry was set up to examine what went wrong.
The inquiry was put on hold during the former SNP leader's criminal trial - which saw him acquitted of 13 charges of sexual assault - but has now spent several months taking evidence from civil servants and officials.
Linda Fabiani said the treatment of her committee was "deeply disrespectful"
However, Ms Fabiani - an SNP MSP - said that "week after week the committee is in a position where it is clear to us that the evidence being shared lacks detail and indeed usefulness".
She continued: "I have on multiple occasions made it clear exactly what evidence the committee wants to see. There is no doubt that we have received a large amount of information. But we are receiving very few clear answers.
"I am in a position today where I am, yet again, writing letters to express my frustration at the delay, the prevarication and obfuscation. But this goes beyond frustration.
"This must end and we will complete our work and do the job given to us by the nation's parliament."
Legal advice
The committee has been locked in a dispute with the Scottish government over whether privileged legal advice, taken during the course of the court battle with Mr Salmond, should be handed over.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has repeatedly argued that it is an "important principle" that advice from lawyers should remain confidential.
MSPs voted by 63 to 54 to urge the government to disclose the papers, with Mr Swinney and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon both saying they would consider this.
Ms Fabiani has written to Mr Swinney setting a deadline of Friday for these papers to be provided.
She also complained the committee was having to "extract" information "through attrition" rather than by it being "proactively offered up by the Scottish government".
Mr Swinney has argued that the government has provided thousands of pages of documentation and that officials have already given 14 hours of oral evidence.
Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans - Scotland's top civil servant - is due to appear before MSPs for the third time next week.
Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond have been involved in an increasingly public row
The committee is also pushing Mr Salmond to send a written submission ahead of giving evidence in person in December.
The former first minister's lawyers have said he is keen to cooperate with the inquiry and has prepared a "substantial range of documents", but that he needs access to papers held by the courts to make a full submission.
Ms Fabiani wrote to him saying that his initial statement "does not require the processing of all records to be completed", and that further papers could be sent in later.
Mr Salmond has been involved in an escalating row with his successor Nicola Sturgeon, having called for a separate probe into whether or not she breached the ministerial code to be expanded.
Ms Sturgeon has insisted that she acted "appropriately and in good faith" throughout the investigation and has "nothing to hide" - and has said Mr Salmond may be angry with her for refusing to "collude" with him over the internal complaints.
- Published29 September 2020
