The telegraph
‘Hard to believe’ Sturgeon was unaware of concerns about Salmond’s alleged behavior earlier – leaked report
Alex Salmond’s inquiry concluded that it is “hard to believe” that Nicola Sturgeon did not know before his concerns about his mentor’s alleged behavior towards women. Other leaks from the survey report, which are due to be published on Tuesday, conclude that “if she had such knowledge, she cheated the committee.” Ms. Sturgeon said the first concerns she heard came when she was informed of a media inquiry in November 2017, involving allegations about his behavior towards Edinburgh airport employees. Mrs. Sturgeon was his deputy for a decade, including seven years as deputy prime minister in his government. He had previously said that “he was not a saint”, but insisted that he never “sexually harassed anyone”. Salmond was cleared of all criminal charges of sexual misconduct allegedly between 2008 and 2014 at his trial last year. The latest leak follows the disclosure that the committee voted by a five to four majority that Sturgeon gave an “inaccurate” report of a meeting with Salmond at his home and therefore deceived parliament. Ms. Sturgeon described the news as a “very partisan leak” from the investigation and said it was not “so surprising”. She claimed that some members of the committee’s opposition had already made up their minds even before she gave her testimony. A separate inquiry by James Hamilton QC as to whether it violated the ministerial code – usually a matter of resignation – is due to be reported soon. If it finds that she has broken the code, Sturgeon has indicated that she will refuse to resign and, instead, will argue that the Scottish people must decide whether she will remain in office in the Holyrood election in May. But Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday highlighted his preface to the Scottish ministerial code, which concludes: “I will set an example by following the letter and spirit of this Code, and I hope that ministers and civil servants will do the same.” Speaking on a visit to Glasgow, the labor leader said it would be “incredibly serious” if the Holyrood inquiry’s report suggested that it deceived parliament and potentially violated the code. He said: “Obviously, the focus is very much on the individual, Nicola Sturgeon, but it is actually bigger than that: it is about the integrity of the Scottish Parliament, the integrity of the Prime Minister’s office and the standards in public life.” The code it is important, the code is explicit and the expectation has to be if there is a violation of the code, and I say if, then, there should be a waiver. ” Citing Sturgeon’s preface, he added: “So she set high standards and now she needs to live up to those high standards.” Asked about the Prime Minister’s rejection of the conclusion of the inquiry as “partisan”, Sir Keir said: “” The right thing to do is to wait for the report to read the report as we will all do, but to say now, several days earlier, what she said about the outcome is to do exactly what she is accusing other people of doing. “