Alex Salmond due at Holyrood Inquiry to give evidence today

Scotland’s former first minister is expected to give evidence on the botched investigation and face questions about his claims that Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament and breached the ministerial code.

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It is expected First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will appear next week.

The Government’s investigation of the allegations was found to be “tainted by apparent bias” after it emerged the investigating officer had prior contact with two of the women who made complaints.

Mr Salmond, who was later acquitted of 13 charges of sexual assault in a criminal trial, was awarded a £512,250 payout after he successfully challenged the lawfulness of the Government investigation.

A parliamentary inquiry – the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints – was established to look into the Government’s actions.

Solicitor David McKie (left) and Alex Salmond

Mr Salmond pulled out of a scheduled evidence session on Wednesday after the Scottish Parliament belatedly redacted his written evidence the day before he was due to appear, but offered to attend on Friday instead.

In his written submission, Mr Salmond named people he claims were involved in a “malicious and concerted” attempt to see him removed from public life and described the Crown Office – the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland – as “simply not fit for purpose”.

After the evidence was published and in the public domain, the Crown Office wrote to the parliament and purportedly raised concerns about possible contempt of court.

The Scottish Parliament’s Corporate Body (SPCB) agreed to remove the submission and replace it with a redacted version with five sections – a total of 474 words – censored.

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Mr Salmond’s lawyer, David McKie, subsequently demanded to see any legal justification for the parliament redacting swathes of his submission and warned there could be a “material risk” if he appeared to give oral evidence as planned.

Mr Mckie wrote: “Our client’s submission was carefully reviewed by us and by counsel before submission.

“There is no legal basis for the redactions that we are aware of which you now propose having gone through that extremely careful exercise.”

Ms Sturgeon has insisted there is “not a shred of evidence” that there was a conspiracy against Mr Salmond and she has denied lying to Parliament.

The current First Minister is scheduled to appear before the committee to give evidence next Wednesday.

A majority of the committee’s MSPs earlier this week voted in favour of approaching the High Court “as a matter of urgency” for specific guidance on how Lady Dorrian’s anonymity order from Mr Salmond’s criminal trial applies to the publication of his written evidence to the inquiry.

They also voted to recall Lord Advocate James Wolffe to face more questions, as well as agreeing to order the Crown Office to release further documents to the committee.

A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said: “There was unanimous agreement in the committee that it wants to hear from Alex Salmond.

“His evidence has always been an important part of the committee’s work and, as such, the committee agreed that it would invite Mr Salmond to give evidence in person on Friday.

“The First Minister will then give evidence as the final witness to the inquiry on Wednesday.

“The committee remains determined to complete its task set by the Parliament and today agreed further actions in order to help them complete this work.”

What we know about the Salmond inquiry

– Why was the committee established?

The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up to look into the Scottish Government investigation of the allegations against the former first minister.

MSPs have so far taken evidence from civil servants, including repeated sessions from Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, trade unions and SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – who is First Minister Ms Sturgeon’s husband.

– Why did Mr Salmond take legal action?

The former first minister did not feel his treatment by the Scottish Government was fair.

It was later found that the lead investigator of the complaints had prior contact with some of the female complainers, with Judge Lord Pentland saying the investigation was “tainted with apparent bias”.

– How has the inquiry gone so far?

The committee has repeatedly voiced frustration with how slow the handing of evidence has been from a number of parties.

The Scottish Government was accused of obstruction last year, with the committee saying it was “completely frustrated” with the lack of evidence.

Both the committee and the Scottish Government were at loggerheads over legal advice provided as part of the judicial review process. MSPs wanted to know when the Scottish Government was advised it would likely lose the challenge raised by Mr Salmond, but ministers said handing over the advice would breach the ministerial code.

On two occasions, MSPs voted for the evidence to be released, with a deal eventually being struck in December to reveal the advice only to MSPs on the committee.

– Didn’t Mr Salmond face trial on sexual misconduct charges?

Yes. The former first minister was cleared of 13 charges at the High Court in Edinburgh in March last year after being arrested in January 2019.

– What is Mr Salmond expected to say?

It is not clear what the former first minister will say when he appears before the committee, but indirect sparring between himself and his former deputy in recent weeks has shown how contentious the issue has become.

A submission to the committee published this week from Mr Salmond said there had been a “malicious and concerted” effort to remove him from public life.

– What were the issues with Mr Salmond’s evidence?

Mr Salmond and the committee have been wrangling in recent weeks over evidence published by the inquiry.

Earlier this month, the former first minister said he would not appear after the committee decided not to publish his submission to a separate investigation into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code over fears it may identify some of the complainers in Mr Salmond’s criminal trial last year.

However, an alteration made to a court order by Judge Lady Dorrian meant the evidence could potentially be made public.

While the committee voted against publication, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) made the decision to publish anyway.

The evidence, which was released on Monday evening, was online for less than 24 hours before the Crown Office raised concerns with Holyrood about it, asking for redactions to be made.

In his submission, the former first minister accused some in the Scottish Government and SNP of a “malicious and concerted attempt to damage my reputation and remove me from public life in Scotland”.

Ms Sturgeon said her predecessor did not have “a shred of evidence” to support his claims.

On Tuesday morning, the submission was re-released, with a number of paragraphs relating to the set-up of a meeting between Mr Salmond and his successor redacted.

– Is the committee inquiry the only investigation into the matter?

No. Ms Sturgeon is currently under investigation by James Hamilton QC to establish if she breached the ministerial code.

Ms Sturgeon referred herself after being accused of misleading Parliament over when she knew of the complaints against Mr Salmond.

She previously said she had been told about the allegations by Mr Salmond himself during a meeting in her home on April 2, 2018.

However, it was later found that Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein had met with the First Minister in her Holyrood office four days prior to that, where she was told of the complaints.

– Will Nicola Sturgeon appear before the committee?

The First Minister is expected to appear before the committee next week and has repeatedly said she looks forward to being able to present her side of the story.