[ad_1]
The Scottish government’s handling of allegations of harassment against Alex Salmond was “seriously flawed,” a multi-party MSP committee found.
the Committee on the handling of complaints of harassment by the Scottish Government The report concluded that the women who made the accusations were “very disappointed.”
He also discovered that he was misled by Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon following his investigation into the government’s illegal handling of the allegations against Mr. Salmond.
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservatives have said they will go ahead with a vote of no confidence in Sturgeon.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sturgeon reacts after investigation finds no violation of ministerial code
The findings are independent of those of James Hamilton, who reported Monday that there had been without breach of the ministerial code by the prime minister on his role in the saga.
The committee found a “fundamental contradiction” in Ms Sturgeon’s evidence as to whether she agreed to intervene in a Scottish government investigation into the complaints of two women against the former prime minister.
He said that, at a meeting at her home in Glasgow on April 2, 2018, Ms Sturgeon “actually left Mr Salmond with the impression that, if necessary, he would intervene”.
The report continued: “Your written evidence is therefore an inaccurate account of what happened, and you have misled the committee on this matter.”
The committee considered this to be a possible breach of the ministerial code, but added that the Hamilton report was the “most appropriate place” to address this issue.
All four members of the SNP committee disagreed with the finding that she misled the committee, which was one of the conclusions leaked last week.
The report says the committee “finds it hard to believe” that Sturgeon “was not aware of any concerns about inappropriate behavior by Mr. Salmond prior to November 2017.”
He continues: “If she had such knowledge, then she should have acted on it. If she had such knowledge, then she has misled the committee.”
All four members of the SNP committee again disagreed with this statement, saying that it “does not distinguish between bullying behavior and sexual harassment.”
They stated that “some evidence from the investigation indicated that the former prime minister might display intimidating behavior,” but “there has been no suggestion that the prime minister was aware of sexual harassment.”
The report indicates that the committee is “concerned” that Ms. Sturgeon did not disclose the details of her meeting with Mr. Salmond to the Scottish government’s top public official, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, until June 6, plus two months after the first meeting in the minister’s house.
The committee found that it should have told Ms. Evans “at the earliest opportunity” and immediately stopped contacting Mr. Salmond, instead continuing to meet with him.
The four members of the SNP committee also disagreed with this finding.
The cross-party investigation was established after a successful judicial review by Salmond resulted in the Scottish government’s investigation into the allegations against him being declared illegal and “tainted by apparent bias” in 2019.
He was awarded a maximum payment of £ 512,250 after the Scottish government granted the case a week before it was heard in court.
