Investigation Clears Nicola Sturgeon of Breaching Ministerial Code

AN INDEPENDENT investigation clears First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Nicola Sturgeon, of breaching ministerial code.

An independent investigation into Nicola Sturgeon’s handling of the Alex Salmond harassment case has found that she did not breach the ministerial code.

The Scottish government’s independent advisor on ministerial standards, James Hamilton, had been asked to investigate the accusation. He examined whether Sturgeon “attempted to influence the conduct of the investigation” into Mr Salmond.

Hamilton also looked into whether Sturgeon should have recorded meetings and calls with Salmond and if she misled the Scottish Parliament.

In January 2019, following Salmond’s legal challenge of the Scottish Government’s unlawful investigation into harassment complaints against him, The SNP leader referred herself for investigation. He was awarded £512,250 in legal costs.

Following a High Court trial in March 2020, Mr Salmond was acquitted of all 13 charges against him, which included sexual assault, indecent assault and attempted rape.

“I am of the opinion that the First Minister did not breach the provisions of the Ministerial Code in respect of any of these matters,” Hamilton said in his eagerly awaited report.

Sturgeon has said in a statement “Mr Hamilton has considered all of the allegations against me, and I am happy that his report’s findings clear me of any breach of the ministerial code.”

“I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest. As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that.”

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