Sturgeon off the hook: Scotland’s First Minister cleared of wrongdoing
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Nicola Sturgeon did not breach the Scottish ministerial code over her handling of the Alex Salmond harassment case, an independent investigation has ruled.
James Hamilton, Scotland’s independent adviser on ministerial standards, handed out the judgement this afternoon more than two years after Sturgeon referred herself for investigation.
Hamilton examined whether the First Minister “attempted to influence the conduct of the investigation” into Salmond, her predecessor, after he won a legal challenge against her government’s inquiry into sexual harassment complaints against him in January 2019.
He also investigated Sturgeon over failing to immediately alert senior civil servants that she had met Salmond to discuss a confidential Scottish government inquiry into harassment complaints.
Sturgeon met Salmond at her house on 2 April 2018, and had a subsequent phone call with him about the harassment allegations. However, she only told Lesley Evans, the head of Scotland’s civil service, on 6 June that year.
It also emerged the First Minister divulge to MSPs that she had also met Salmond’s former chief of staff in her parliamentary office and discussed the fact there were issues “of a sexual nature” involving Salmond on 29 March 2018.
Both of those breaches of the Scottish government ministerial code could potentially have led to Sturgeon being forced to resign if she had knowingly done so, with just six weeks to go before the Holyrood elections.
An affirmation that she had broken the ministerial code would have had seismic consequences for Scottish politics and the future of the union.
Sturgeon has vowed to press for an independence referendum if the SNP wins an absolute majority in May’s elections.
Hamilton’s ruling is expected to mean a vote of no confidence due to be tabled by the Scottish Conservatives tomorrow morning will now fail to win support from other opposition parties.