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Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland, has accused her predecessor, Alex Salmond, of engaging in “a bit of a revenge mission” related to the Scottish government’s handling of harassment complaints made against him. This allegation was made during an interview Sturgeon gave to James Hamilton, an independent adviser responsible for investigating whether she misled the Scottish Parliament. The transcript from this interview was recently published as part of a large batch of documents released following a freedom of information request that had been legally contested.
In the course of the interview, Sturgeon expressed concern that Salmond’s actions after an allegation of inappropriate behaviour at Edinburgh Airport in 2017 may have “stirred a hornet’s nest.” She explained that following the incident, Salmond or his legal team contacted various Scottish government officials to seek support, which raised her suspicions about his intentions. Sturgeon recalled that Salmond warned her about the risks of explosive stories coming to light but qualified his remarks by denying there was necessarily any wrongdoing. Despite not dwelling on these worries daily, she admitted they remained at the back of her mind before the subsequent developments.
Alex Salmond, meanwhile, disputed Sturgeon’s account during his own interview with Hamilton. He described her claim that she did not interfere in the harassment investigation as “simply untrue” and suggested that a leak of a report concerning the allegations, which appeared in the Daily Record newspaper, must have originated from Sturgeon or her special advisers. However, this accusation was rejected both by Salmond’s supporters and the journalist who originally reported the leaked document.
The release of the documents has been delayed repeatedly, largely due to redactions intended to protect the identity of women who made allegations. John Swinney, Scotland’s First Minister, previously informed Parliament that the process was complicated by such concerns. The Information Commissioner in Scotland has taken legal action against the government for missing deadlines to publish the requested documents, which relate to multiple freedom of information appeals around the Sturgeon and Salmond inquiries. The government is currently appealing against key rulings to disclose certain evidence used by Hamilton in his investigation, and despite agreeing in principle to release correspondence, officials say redactions require more time. This ongoing saga highlights the complex intersection of political accountability, legal scrutiny, and transparency in the handling of sensitive government investigations
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