THE Scotland Office has been accused a fresh cover-up over the leaked 'Frenchgate' memo after claiming it could damage people's "physical and mental health" to reveal who saw it.

The memo, which wrongly suggested Nicola Sturgeon wanted David Cameron to remain Prime Minister, was leaked to the press in the general election campaign by the then LibDem Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael and his special adviser Euan Roddin.

Carmichael, who initially denied all knowledge of the leak, is now the subject of a civil court action trying to have his election as MP for Orkney & Shetland overturned.

Using Freedom of Information law, the Sunday Herald asked the Scotland Office for the names of the ministers, special advisers and officials who received the note.

Critically, this would have shown whether Downing Street was in the loop before the memo was leaked to the Daily Telegraph at the start of April.

However the Scotland Office refused to reveal the government distribution list on the grounds that it was "personal information".

In a response issued last week, it acknowledged there was a public interest in the greater understanding of the role of public servants in "historic events".

However this was outweighed by the need to protect "the safety of individual public servants, who might be put at risk either physically and or mental health (sic) of an individual".

It went on: "The release of such information might deter others from accepting such responsibilities in the future and this would impair the ability of Her Majesty's Government to discharge its responsibilities for public safety and its duty of care to employees".

The Sunday Herald has challenged the decision.

Earlier this month, the Scotland Office claimed releasing the full memo could "damage the bilateral relationship between the UK and France", despite most of it already being public.

SNP MP Peter Grant urged the Scotland Office to go for full disclosure.

He said: "The key information the public has a right to know is whether or not the memo was sent to Alistair Carmichael or any other Ministers. This could be released without involving information about the identity of any civil servants on the copy list.

"Of course, Mr Carmichael could himself explain if he was sent a copy of the memo before authorising the leak. However, the fact remains that the people of Orkney and Shetland need an MP who is fully focused on representing them and the needs of the constituency."

The memo was written on March 6 by a Scotland Office civil servant after a phone call with the French Consul General in Edinburgh, Pierre-Alain Coffinier, who described a recent meeting between the First Minister and the French Ambassador Sylvie Bermann.

Drawing on Coffinier's account, the memo writer said Sturgeon "confessed that she'd rather see David Cameron remain as PM (and didn't see Ed Miliband as PM material)".

However the civil servant also doubted "the FM's tongue would be quite so loose" and warned "it might well be a case of something being lost in translation".

Despite the caveats, Roddin urged that the memo be leaked and Carmichael agreed.

Had it been true, the note would have been devastating to Sturgeon, who had cast herself as Cameron's nemesis in the election and a supporter of Miliband for Prime Minister.

However the claims, although apparently transcribed in good faith, were inaccurate.

After the election, a Cabinet Office probe exposed Carmichael and Roddin as the leakers.

Steve Lotinga, the director of communications for the UK LibDems, called the ham-fisted smear attempt "the worst leak in history".