Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of misleading Parliament while her husband Peter Murrell, the chief executive of the SNP, has been listed as a witness who has ‘obstructed’ the Holyrood inquiry into how sexual harassment claims against Alex Salmond were handled by civil servants.
Jackie Baillie, the Labour MSP, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
By Gina Davidson in The Scotsman
On 17 January 2019, Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament: “The inquiries will be able to request whatever material they want, and I undertake today that we will provide whatever material they request.”
However, that was then and this is now and the SNP government has refused to release key documents to the committee, despite repeated requests.
“Nicola Sturgeon has undoubtedly broken her promise to release all materials that the inquiry requested. If she won’t release these documents, she has misled Parliament. It now appears that this inquiry will be a whitewash.”
Convener of the Holyrood committee, SNP MSP Linda Fabiani, has also accused the government, as well as Mr Murrell and Mr Salmond, of “obstruction”.
She said MSPs were “frustrated with the lack of evidence” being supplied to them.
Ms Fabiani said the committee, which met in private this week to discuss the oral and written evidence it had received so far, will now be forced to sit privately again next week as a result of a lack of evidence forthcoming.”
It’s a an unreal world at Holyrood where you have to sit in private to cover up evidence you haven’t been given, but that’s life in Secret Scotland today.
Ms Fabiani added: “The committee continues to be completely frustrated with the lack of evidence and, quite frankly, obstruction it is experiencing.
“We had hoped to be in a position to hear further oral evidence, but with responses still outstanding from the Scottish Government, chief executive of the SNP and the former first minister, all of this means that we simply cannot proceed at this stage.
“I would urge all those we have approached to engage productively with the committee so it can get on with the task in hand.”
Scottish Labour’s committee member, Dumbarton, Helensburgh and Vale of Leven MSP, Jackie Baillie, said: “Quite frankly, the Scottish Government and others are treating this committee as a laughing stock.
“It is all too clear that the government’s commitment to transparency was little more than a bad joke and that they are determined to prevent the committee from executing its vital task.
“The Scottish Government and, indeed, many others involved in this affair have demonstrated contempt for this committee and its aims. The secrecy must end.”
The SNP has been asked for comment, but in West Dunbartonshire they don’t consider it an obligation to democracy to do that.