MSPs on Alex Salmond committee say Nicola Sturgeon misled them
- Published
Ms Sturgeon gave evidence to the inquiry in a marathon eight-hour session earlier this month
A majority of MSPs on the Alex Salmond committee have said Nicola Sturgeon misled their inquiry, sources have told the BBC.
It is understood MSPs on the committee voted by five to four that the SNP leader had given them an inaccurate account.
The committee's final report is expected to be published next Tuesday.
Ms Sturgeon has insisted she stands by all of the evidence she gave to the committee earlier this month.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has called for the first minister to resign.
However, Ms Sturgeon told Sky News: "What has been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up before I uttered a single word of evidence. Their public comments have made that clear.
"So this very partisan leak tonight before they've actually finalised the report is not that surprising.
"Let's wait and see the final report, but more importantly the question of whether or not I breached the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton and I hope and expect he will publish that report soon."
Mr Hamilton, a senior Irish lawyer, has been specifically examining whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code, which says that any minister who knowingly misleads parliament would be "expected to offer their resignation".
His inquiry is separate from the committee and is also expected to publish its report in the coming days.
The cross-party committee includes four SNP MSPs, two Conservatives, one Labour, one Liberal Democrat and independent Andy Wightman.
A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said the committee was still finalising its report, and it would not make any comment until it was published.
Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond - her predecessor as first minister and SNP leader - have both taken part in lengthy evidence sessions in front of the committee in recent weeks.
Mr Salmond claimed to have been the victim of a "malicious scheme" drawn up by figures within the SNP who are close to Ms Sturgeon.
Mr Salmond was Ms Sturgeon's political mentor, but the pair have been embroiled in an increasingly bitter war of words
But Ms Sturgeon told the inquiry that any suggestion there had been conspiracy were "absurd", and insisted she had not been out to "get" Mr Salmond.
She told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday that Mr Salmond and his "cronies" In the "old boys' club" had been spinning "conspiracy theories" which opposition politicians had bought into.
It came after Conservative MP David Davis - a longstanding friend of Mr Salmond - used parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons to read out messages that he suggested showed a "concerted effort by senior members of the SNP to encourage complaints" against the former first minister.
Nicola Sturgeon did not intervene in the investigation into harassment complaints against Alex Salmond. The dispute is about whether or not she was ever prepared to.
Alex Salmond claims she was and is backed up in that by his lawyer, Duncan Hamilton who went with him to see Nicola Sturgeon on 2 April 2018.
Nicola Sturgeon claims she made clear an intervention would not be possible, although she has also acknowledged that in trying to let Mr Salmond down gently she may not have been blunt enough.
Her testimony is understood to be supported by written evidence from one of her colleagues, shared with the committee in private.
The opposition majority appears to have found Team Salmond's evidence more persuasive. SNP members refuse to accept Team Sturgeon has given a misleading account.
With the committee divided along party lines over the first minister's conduct, the conclusions of James Hamilton - the Irish lawyer who's independently examining the evidence - gain ever greater importance.
Some MSPs on the committee - including the SNP MSP who chairs it - have accused the government of attempting to frustrate its work
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "All the evidence points to the fact that Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament, misled the people of Scotland and has to resign.
"I have said for weeks that evidence against Nicola Sturgeon has been mounting, it has been growing and it is clear she has breached the ministerial code.
"You cannot continue as first minister of Scotland if you have misled Parliament and breached the ministerial code."
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it would be "incredibly serious" if the committee concluded that the first minister had misled parliament and potentially breached the ministerial code.
He added: "This is about the integrity of our Scottish Parliament and upholding standards in public life."