Officials have agreed to reveal new costs in the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal against NHS Fife following a challenge by The Herald.
NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) agreed The Herald's request for a cost breakdown of legal fees was in the public interest - but argued its "commercial interests" prevent daily or hourly prices being revealed.
The development comes as the employment tribunal takes a significant step forward, with employment judge Sandy Kemp overseeing a four-day deliberation period.
Ms Peggie is suing her employer and medic Dr Beth Upton after she was suspended for raising concerns about sharing a female changing room with a transgender doctor.
It is a long-running case with costs now exceeding £320,000. However, a breakdown of the costs has never been obtained until now.
It can now be revealed that Ms Russell and her legal team, based in London, have been paid £159,787.73 as of August 20, 2025.
Meanwhile, CLO fees to NHS Fife have reached £149,166, although the health board is only liable for the first £25,000.
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A further £10,389.58 has also been spent on "other outlays" in defending the case, but further details were not provided.
Scottish Tory MSP Pam Gosal accused NSS of being "dragged kicking and screaming" for the information.
Last month, The Herald asked health chiefs to provide a breakdown of legal fees, including travel, hotel and the hourly rate paid to Jane Russell KC, the barrister acting on behalf of NHS Fife.
NSS - the organisation responsible for the Central Legal Office (CLO), which hires barristers for health boards - refused the freedom of information request, arguing there was "no legitimate reason" to release it.
The publicly-funded body also said it could not reveal the costs for CLO solicitors in this case as this would identify the costs to Ms Russell and her legal team.
But The Herald challenged the decision and requested an internal review, arguing it was in the public interest to reveal information about costs footed by taxpayers.
NSS agreed with the review request - but said it still could not reveal the hourly rate or daily rates in order to "diminish detriment to CLO's commercial interests and those of counsel".
The organisation said it had a "legitimate reason" for withholding the daily or hourly rate paid to Ms Russell and CLO staff.
“The negotiation of fees with counsel is done case-by-case and based on a range of factors such as complexity,” the NSS told The Herald in its FOI review.
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“But disclosure of an hourly or daily rate may prejudice the commercial interests of Jane Russell as well as prejudice future negotiations CLO may hold with any future counsel.”
It said the £320,000 legal fees included travel expenses but not “travel time”, given that Ms Russell and her team travel from London to represent the health board.
The fees also “represent the cost of more than one counsel,” the public body said.
Scottish Tory MSP Ms Gosal said: National Services Scotland should not have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into revealing these costs in the first place.
“Even then they have still not revealed the full extent despite this paper’s persistence to get the public the truth.”
The West Scotland MSP added: “Taxpayers have a right to know how health boards are spending their money especially when frontline healthcare services are in crisis in NHS Fife.
“NHS Fife have operated in a secretive manner from the start in trying to defend their indefensible treatment of Sandie Peggie.”
It also comes after the NSS was rebuked by Scotland's Information Commissioner David Hamilton for failing to reveal the costs.
On a separate occasion, the NSS told this newspaper releasing a breakdown of spending could result in "unwanted approaches to staff and may affect their wellbeing negatively".
The organisation then dropped this claim but later told the Commissioner it considered there to be a "risk to the physical and mental health" of staff if more information was released.
Mr Hamilton accepted tensions around the tribunal were high but ruled releasing the requested information would not meaningfully add to any risk.
For the exemption to apply, he said, “there must be some well-founded apprehension of danger, such that the prospect of harm could be regarded as a distinct possibility".
NHS Services Scotland has been asked for comment.
NHS Fife is a member of the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS), which means it only pays the first £25,000 of its legal fees.
The remaining bill is covered by the scheme, which is paid for through the Scottish Government's Health and Social Care Directorate that underwrites the scheme.
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