A Scottish Parliament Commission of Inquiry has ruled that Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has provided “false and misleading information” about an April 2018 meeting with her predecessor Alex Salmond who was under fire over alleged misconduct against women.
Sturgeon’s government has also made serious errors in the investigation in the case of Salmond’s alleged sexual misconduct, according to the committee.
Sturgeon is accused of keeping in touch with him about the matter during the proceedings against her predecessor and party member. Moreover, she would have been aware of the complaints against Salmond much earlier than she stated. Sturgeon and Salmond were close friends and fellow party members of the Scottish National Party, but they have become bitter opponents.
In any case, the committee finds it wrong that Sturgeon continued to talk to Salmond about the case against him during those days. A vote of no confidence against Sturgeon may be filed in the Scottish Parliament, a Scottish media report.
The committee will issue its judgment a day after an independent investigation committee concluded the opposite. He stated that Sturgeon had not lied to parliament and that she cannot be blamed for handling the charges against her predecessor Salmond.
The parliament committee examined how the government has dealt with complaints about Salmond. After stepping down in 2014, he was charged with sexual misconduct. Several women said Salmond had tried to rape or assault them. The former prime minister was eventually acquitted for this in a drawn-out criminal case. At the time, the Scottish government also spent large sums of money against lawyers’ advice to get Salmond convicted.
Sturgeon contradicts all charges and does not resign. She calls the parliamentary committee of inquiry biased. The next Scottish elections are in May.