MEMBERS of the Holyrood inquiry into the Alex Salmond saga have said they are "extremely frustrated" at Scottish Government delays in handing over evidence.

In a letter to Deputy First Minister John Swinney, the committee also said it is "not reassured it has received all relevant information".

It comes after Mr Swinney confirmed minutes of meetings between Nicola Sturgeon, Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans and the Scottish Government's legal counsel cannot be found.

Mr Swinney faces a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, but is expected to survive. 

The Holyrood inquiry is looking into how the Scottish Government botched its probe into sexual misconduct allegations made against Mr Salmond in 2018.

Mr Salmond had the exercise set aside in a judicial review after the Government conceded it was unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”, an error that left taxpayers with a £512,000 bill for his legal costs.

He was later cleared of multiple charges of sexual assault at the High Court in Edinburgh.

In a letter to Mr Swinney, inquiry convener Linda Fabiani said: "Members are extremely frustrated that evidence the committee has been seeking from the Scottish Government for months continues to be sourced and published in the final days of this inquiry.

"The members would have asked questions of the First Minister, the Lord Advocate and the Permanent Secretary amongst others had it seen, at an earlier stage, information that has only now been published."

Earlier, Mr Swinney had told the committee he was unable to provide details it had requested. 

He said the Scottish Government does not hold "formal minutes" of meetings with its external counsel about Mr Salmond's legal challenge.

The current First Minister and Ms Evans, Scotland's most senior civil servant, held meetings with external legal advisers about the judicial review on November 2 and 13, 2018, according to evidence provided to the committee.

MSPs asked the Government to release the official records of the meetings, but Mr Swinney said it has not "identified any record of minutes having been prepared or previously held".

In a letter to the committe, he said: "I asked officials to check what documents are available, prioritising the meetings on 2 and 13 November 2018, which the committee has highlighted.

"Officials have identified a small number of contemporaneous email exchanges referencing these meetings.

"This includes exchanges following the meeting on 2 November and emails ahead of the meeting on 13 November 2018, attended by the First Minister and Permanent Secretary.

"These exchanges make clear that the focus of the meetings was on discussing and agreeing with external counsel adjustments to the pleadings for the judicial review.

"I have asked officials to urgently make necessary checks for compliance with court orders and data notifications, and then to publish these email exchanges as soon as possible this week."

Responding, Ms Fabiani wrote: "Your letter confirms that emails contemporaneous with two of the 17 meetings held with counsel are being processed by the Scottish Government with a view to publishing them this week.

"The Committee requests all records including emails and notes relating to all 17 meetings with counsel to be published as a matter of urgency."

She also sought assurances "that any phone consultations with counsel
have been included in the timelines previously sent to the committee".

Ms Fabiani added: "The committee also discussed at its meeting your confirmation that minutes or notes do not exist of specific meetings in November 2018 attended by counsel. 

"The committee noted that your letter does not refer to whether counsel holds any records including minutes or notes of these meetings. 

"The committee wants to know whether the Scottish Government has sought relevant information from counsel in confirming to the committee that no minutes or other summaries of decisions taken exist."

She said MSPs are "concerned that Scottish Government officials, such as the instructing solicitor, were not required to produce notes of meetings with counsel including of decisions taken".

She added: "In addition to the need for transparency to enable scrutiny, the committee does not understand how in the interests of good governance, the Scottish Government would not create and keep records of such crucial meetings."