Sturgeon and Salmond: What are the key dates?

An inquiry into whether First Minister Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code has published its finding.

James Hamilton, Ireland's former director of public prosecutions, concluded that Ms Sturgeon did not interfere with the civil service investigation into the allegations against Alex Salmond, nor did she mislead parliament.

A separate inquiry by a Scottish Parliament committee has been examining the Scottish government's handling of the initial complaints against Mr Salmond and will report on Tuesday. Here is a timeline of the contact between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond.

2017

4 November: Sky News makes an inquiry to the SNP media office about an alleged incident involving Mr Salmond at Edinburgh Airport, dating back to 2009, and Ms Sturgeon is informed.

5 November: Ms Sturgeon texts Mr Salmond to arrange to speak to him about the Sky inquiry. She says that "he denied it" and that the story ultimately did not run, so there was "no further action that it would have been possible to take". However, it left her with "a lingering concern that allegations about Mr Salmond could materialise at some stage".

9 November: Mr Salmond texts Ms Sturgeon to say the Edinburgh Airport matter is "done and dusted".

2018

29 March: Nicola Sturgeon meets Alex Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, at her Holyrood office. She says the discussion "covered the fact Alex Salmond wanted to see me urgently about a serious matter, and I think it did cover the suggestion that the matter might relate to allegations of a sexual nature". However, she later says she "forgot" about this meeting due to subsequent events.

2 April: Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon meet at the first minister's Glasgow home. Mr Salmond tells his successor that he is being investigated under the procedure - showing her a letter from Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans - and says he intends to seek a process of mediation between himself and the complainers. He claims Ms Sturgeon "suggested that she would intervene in favour of mediation", but later changed her mind. The first minister insists this is not the case, but that she may have been "too gentle" in trying to let down "an old friend".

23 April: Ms Sturgeon speaks to Mr Salmond on the phone, and he again says he intends to propose mediation. His lawyers write to Leslie Evans making this suggestion - but she writes back the following day saying it "would not be appropriate at this time".

31 May: Mr Salmond texts Ms Sturgeon asking for a meeting so he can show her a petition for judicial review, but she replies saying: "We've already spoken about why I think me intervening is not right." He says that his recollection of their last meeting is "rather different", adding that his lawyers say the prospects of his success in a judicial review are "excellent".

6 June: Ms Sturgeon informs Ms Evans that she knows about the complaints.

7 June: Ms Sturgeon meets Mr Salmond in Aberdeen ahead of the SNP conference. He shows her the judicial review paperwork, but says she was "now against making any intervention".

26 June: Mr Salmond's lawyers write to Ms Evans saying there is a "fundamental dispute" over the legality of the investigation, suggesting arbitration or some other form of dispute resolution.

4 July: Ms Evans replies to Mr Salmond's lawyers rejecting arbitration, saying she is satisfied the procedure was fair and competent. The following day, he texts Ms Sturgeon complaining about this. She does not reply.

14 July: Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond meet again in Glasgow. She says he had formed a belief that she was "blocking arbitration", to which she replied that she was not involved in the decision. She also says she "suggested to him that given their seriousness, he should engage on the substance of the complaints and not just focus on procedure".

15 July: Alex Salmond texts Nicola Sturgeon to say he is "genuinely at a loss as to what the downside is for anyone" of arbitration.

16 July: Ms Sturgeon informs Ms Evans of her latest meeting with Mr Salmond and the subsequent messages. She says she "did not want any suggestion that an opinion attributed to me (which I hadn't expressed) was influencing decisions I had no part in".

18 July: Ms Sturgeon speaks to Mr Salmond on the phone. She says she "wanted to draw a line under our contact". This is the last time they speak directly.

29 July: Alex Salmond texts Nicola Sturgeon to say a "full rebuttal of all complaints" has been submitted, adding: "Let us see how it is judged." She does not reply.