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Alex Salmond is threatening legal action against Scotland’s highest ranking official and has called for a police investigation into the leak of the failed results of the Scottish government harassment investigation.
In a brief statement, the former prime minister said the findings of the three independent investigations and Holyrood into the stalking controversy “must be accepted” despite their “manifest limitations.”
Despite that, Salmond said he felt compelled to take further legal action against Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary to the Scottish government. Evans “still refuses to accept actual responsibility” for the costly failures of the internal investigation into the harassment allegations against him, he said.
That was despite the Holyrood investigation singling out Evans for strong criticism, he said, and despite his first judicial review victory against Evans and the decentralized government in January 2019.The government investigation was declared illegal on procedural grounds. , by the court, and all its findings quashed.
“This cannot be sustained,” Salmond said in his statement Wednesday, answering the end of three questions about the controversy.
Nicola Sturgeon, who has been acquitted of violating the ministerial code for her dealings with Salmond, has made it clear that she supports Evans. A Scottish government spokesman said: “The Prime Minister retains her confidence in the Permanent Secretary, who has at all times operated in accordance with the Civil Service Code and the legal advice received.”
The Holyrood committee stopped short of demanding that Evans leave, but hinted that he should go. He said the government was guilty of “serious, substantial and totally avoidable” failures and that “those responsible must be held accountable.”
Salmond added that he was also formally asking the Scottish Police to launch an investigation into the leak to the Daily Record newspaper, in August 2018, of the government’s investigation decision to uphold the complaints against him by two female officials.
The Register also revealed that the government’s findings would be relayed to the Scottish Police, which soon launched its own criminal investigation, called Operation Diem. The information commissioner previously discovered that there is no evidence that a Scottish government official leaked.
Scottish government documents and a letter from Salmond’s lawyers, Levy McRae, show that public officials initially brought eleven separate “cases of concern” against Salmond, including eight of the two complainants, Ms A and Ms B , once the government investigation began in January 2018.
The government described them as “serious complaints” in a letter from Evans to Levy McRae on July 18, 2018, which was published by the government as part of its disclosures to the Holyrood investigation.
Salmond has consistently and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Evans cited Salmond’s rebuttal of the complaints against him. He said in April 2018: “None of the complaints are admitted” and “I categorically deny that I have ever harassed any official.”
Evans records that Salmond gave a substantive response to concerns J, K, and L, and presented five witnesses to those allegations. It is understood that at least one of those cases, Incident Designated K, was ruled out.
Salmond’s attorney told Evans that they could not adequately respond to the other claims because they had not seen the statements of the complainants, did not know the names of the witnesses, and did not have access to official records and journals.
Since then, Salmond has stated that he never officially received the names of Ms A and Ms B, although Ms A’s identity was allegedly leaked to one of her close allies, Geoff Aberdein, in March 2018.
The government report has never been released – it has not been officially confirmed how many of the original 11 complaints were considered or confirmed in the final report. Salmond declined to comment Wednesday.
Police received a summary of the government’s findings in August 2018 and their investigation led to Salmond being indicted for 14 crimes of sexual assault. Two involved Ms A, including a sexual assault with intent to rape, and one involving Ms B. Salmond was acquitted of all charges after a higher court trial in March 2020, including those that arose of the government investigation.
A Scottish government spokesman said it has become clear that he will reflect carefully on the reports released in recent days and that lessons will be learned.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on a hypothetical legal action or in relation to a matter that Mr. Salmond has said he could raise with the police.”
