THE SUNDAY MAIL
Editorial:
All allegations of sexual abuse should be thoroughly investigated by police and prosecutors irrespective of the cost.
However, there are not many cases, even of the most serious in nature, which will be assigned up to 14 officers for almost two years at a cost of more than £800,000.
In the course of its investigation into Alex Salmond, Police Scotland took 386 statements and the former first minister was cleared of all 14 charges.
Nicola Sturgeon, pictured right, to face vote of no confidence on Wednesday if she doesn’t resign before
He had already won his judicial review against the Scottish Government at a further cost of more than £600,000 to the public purse.
If the total bill for this colossal mess ever emerges it will run into many millions.
Something has gone badly wrong and rather than be open and transparent, ministers and senior civil servant have avoided taking responsibility at all costs.
The question is whether it is now going to cost Nicola Sturgeon at the polls in May.
Nicola Sturgeon know nothing about anything, didn’t know about the complaints, didn’t know about the policy to pursue Salmond, forgot about meetings she told parliament she didn’t have, didn’t speak to her husband and it seems her too aides, civil servants and senior legal teams.
Out simply she wasn’t there, she didn’t do it and doesn’t know.
Meanwhile the Scottish government and Scottish legal establishment is in turmoil with all the revelations and with her being effectively names in the House of Commons as a liar.
With something between £8m and £10m having been spent on this utter outrage heads need to roll
And yes it is of that order so far, all the time spent preparing the illegal and biased complaint procedure, the legal advice and preparatory work expended all the way up till the government threw in the towel, the alleged £800,000 two year police investigation ( more like £2m to £3m), the legal support to Police, the cost of the Crown Prosecution Service plus their external legal Counsel, plus of course Alex Salmond’s award of expenses.
And then of course all of the costs associated with the enquiries, all the ferreting out and redacting of documentation, the legal fees, and the enquiry itself.
And of course we are no way near the end and of course Salmond may yet, like the Rangers Insolvency Practitioners did, sue the government and or officials for damages. ( The Duff and Phelps guys got over £20m in damages and expenses .
And they tell us that the costs were £500k in legal to Salmond and £800k for Police.
This shambles could cost the taxpayer £40m to £50m – and in the course of it the destruction of Sturgeon and her party.
Truly shocking – but nothing to do with Nicola.