ALEX Salmond has been given a date to supply potentially explosive evidence to the Holyrood inquiry into his legal war with Nicola Sturgeon’s government.
The former first minister has been asked to provide a written submission by September 23 ahead of giving evidence under oath at Holyrood.
The inquiry also said it would “assess all appropriate options” after Mr Salmond offered to take SNP ministers to court over a refusal to disclose key documents, provided the Parliament agreed to cover his costs.
The developments are contained in a letter from Inquiry convener Linda Fabiani to Mr Salmond’s lawyer David McKie of Glasgow firm Levy & McRae.
The cross-party inquiry is looking at how the Government botched an in-house probe into sexual misconduct claims made against Mr Salmond in 2018.
Mr Salmond had the exercise set aside in a judicial review at the Court of Session, forcing ministers to admit it had been unfair, unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”.
The collapse of the Government’s case in January 2019 left taxpayers with a £500,000 bill for Mr Salmond’s costs, and the Holyrood inquiry is investigating what happened.
Ms Sturgeon told parliament at the time that the inquiry could have whatever material it wanted, but her Government has since withheld evidence and tried to block witnesses.
Deputy FM John Swinney has said legal advice to ministers is protected by legal privilege, while court documents belong to the court itself, not the government.
However in a letter to the inquiry which was disclosed earlier this week, Mr McKie, on behalf of Mr Salmond, said the Government was able to release more than it had.
He said Mr Salmond, as the “quickest and cheapest route” was willing to supply a list of documents about the judicial review so that MSPs could ask the Government for them.
He went on: "The second option, which we are willing to undertake on behalf of the committee, would be for Mr Salmond to return to court to seek the express consent of the court to have those documents passed to the committee.
"Whilst we are more than content to make that application on behalf of the Committee, we would require clarification that all legal costs would be met by the Committee."
In a reply issued today, Ms Fabiani said: “The Committee will continue to assess all appropriate options in seeking the documents and information necessary for its scrutiny and will come back to you at a later stage to update you on its progress in this regard.
“The Committee notes your client’s desire to assist the inquiry and your confirmation that it is his intention to make a submission to the inquiry, as requested by the Committee.
“The Committee appreciates the complexities involved in all of this and your client’s desire to see the full statements and evidence from the Scottish Government.
“However, the Committee is also mindful of the need to progress its inquiry.
“To that end, we would ask your client to make a written submission, to the extent to which he is able, by 23 September.
“Your client would of course be at liberty to send a follow-up submission should there be additional information or documentation that your client wishes to submit in light of any other information or documentation that is subsequently published.”
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