Alex Salmond harassment inquiry ‘concludes Nicola Sturgeon misled Scottish parliament’

First minister gave ‘inaccurate’ account of meeting with predecessor, report expected to say

A Holyrood committee has concluded Nicola Sturgeon misled an investigation into the handling of sexual misconduct claims against her predecessor, according to reports.

MSPs on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Committee voted 5 to 4 that the first minister gave an “inaccurate” account of a meeting with her predecessor during the live investigation, a source told the PA news agency.

The decision is likely to increase pressure on Ms Sturgeon to stand down before May’s election, although it is unclear whether the committee concluded she had intentionally mislead parliament, which would typically be deemed a resignation-worthy offence.

A Scottish parliament spokesperson said the inquiry, which heard lengthy evidence from Ms Sturgeon two weeks ago, was still considering its report. It is expected to be published in the coming days.

The first minister said she stood by her evidence and described the leaked conclusions of the report as “very partisan”.

Read more: Salmond vs Sturgeon: Your complete guide to the ‘whole sorry story’

The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the Scottish government’s investigation being ruled unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”. It awarded a £512,250 payout to the former Scottish first minister to cover his legal fees in 2019.

Conservative MP David Davis used parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons this week to read out messages that he suggested showed a “concerted effort by senior members of the SNP to encourage complaints” against Mr Salmond, a former close ally of Ms Sturgeon and her predecessor as SNP leader.

According to Mr Davis, the messages disclosed by a whistleblower “demand serious investigation”, with one alleging the investigating officer in the case complained of interference by Ms Sturgeon’s chief of staff.

The message is alleged to have been sent by Judith Mackinnon, the officer, to the government’s communications director on 6 February 2018, almost two months before Ms Sturgeon claims to have first known about the investigation of her predecessor.

As well as the committee’s inquiry, James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions in Ireland, has been investigating whether there was a breach of the ministerial code.

A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon said: “The first minister told the truth to the committee in eight hours of evidence, and stands by that evidence.

“It is clear from past public statements that opposition members of this committee had prejudged the first minister at the outset of the inquiry and before hearing a word of her evidence, so this partisan and selective briefing – before the committee has actually published its final report – is hardly surprising.

“The question of the first minister’s adherence to the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton, and we expect to receive and publish his report soon.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “I am not going to prejudge the outcome of the committee report and we await its findings, but if it does conclude that the first minister has misled Parliament and potentially breached the ministerial code, then that is incredibly serious.”

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “The committee will publish its findings in the coming days and we will wait for that report.

“But we have already detailed that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament and for that, she must resign. All we’re waiting for is confirmation.”

Ms Sturgeon told Sky News: “What’s been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up about me before I muttered a single word of evidence, their public comments have made that clear.

“So this leak from the committee, very partisan leak, tonight before they’ve finalised the report is not that surprising.”