Alex Salmond will not appear before MSPs tomorrow following redacted deposition
Alex Salmond will not give evidence tomorrow to MSPs who currently investigate how the Scottish government handled complaints against the former Scottish first minister.
Initially scheduled to testify tomorrow, Salmond’s decision comes after parliament withdrew and then republished a redacted version of one of the politician’s depositions to the inquiry.
Salmond’s lawyers described the parliament’s decision to redact the document to the BBC as “a significant surprise and concern.” Salmond has instead offered to appear before MSPs this Friday.
Salmond’s submission contained a variety of claims and he alleged that there had been “a complete breakdown of the necessary barriers which should exist between government, political party and the prosecution authorities.”
He also claimed that there had been a “concerted effort amongst a range of individuals within the Scottish government and the SNP to damage my reputation” and he accused Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon of misleading parliament and breaching the ministerial code. Sturgeon has denied the allegations.
Investigation
The inquiry has been examining what went wrong with the government’s internal investigation into sexual harassment complaints against Salmond.
Salmond was awarded more than £500,000 in legal expenses after the government admitted that it had acted unlawfully during the investigation into his behaviour. He was later cleared in the High Court on 13 charges of sexual assault, brought by nine different women.