ALEX Salmond's claims that Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code have been dismissed by the independent Hamilton report.

At his appearance in front of the committee investigating the Scottish Government's botched handling of complaints against him, Mr Salmond told MSPs there was "no doubt" Ms Sturgeon had broken the minsterial code. 

But in his independent review, former Irish prosecutor, James Hamilton, said that Mr Salmond "overstated" claims he made that the First Minister repeatedly suggested her meeting with her predecessor were an SNP matter rather than Scottish Government business.

The report says: "Mr Salmond overstates the case when he refers to ‘the repeated representation to the Parliament of the meeting on 2 April 2018 as being a ‘party’ meeting’.

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“The official reports of the Scottish Parliament for 8, 10 and 17 January 2019 contain no such claim by the First Minister.”

In relation to the Scottish Government complaints process, Mr Hamilton said a suggestion that Ms Sturgeon decided to “follow the terms of the procedure” and “not to seek to avoid or amend” it during an ongoing investigation was not a breach of the code.

Mr Hamilton said that Mr Salmond’s claims made to him regarding this suggestion were “misconceived”.

Mr Hamilton also concluded in relation to the judicial review he took against Ms Sturgeon’s administration that Mr Salmond “appears to be under the misapprehension” that the Scottish Government “is under a duty to withdraw a case if advised there is less than an evens chance of winning”.

Mr Hamilton added: “There is no such rule and the prediction of the outcome of cases is not an exact science.”

He said there was “no evidence whatsoever” that Ms Sturgeon “acted improperly” or breached the code in relation to the judicial review.

Mr Hamilton has also quashed any suggestion that the Scottish Government's complaints procedure was altered to include former ministers after allegations against Mr Salmond emerged.

He said: " I accept the First Minister’s evidence that at the time the procedure was adopted she was not aware of any complaints or impending complaints against Mr Salmond."

In relation to a meeting between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein on March 29, 2018, which the First Minister initially forgot about, Mr Hamilton said that "Mr Aberdein says that he gave a brief account of the complaints against Mr Salmond to the First Minister".

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He added: "Contrary to what Mr Salmond told the parliamentary committee, he did not give details of the conduct alleged to have been engaged in by Mr Salmond as he did not in fact know the details."

Mr Salmond's team had claimed the First Minister was made aware of the allegations against him at the March 29 meeting.

But Mr Hamilton said: "It is clear that the information given by Mr Salmond to the First Minister on 2 April was much more detailed than that relayed by Mr Aberdein on 29 March."