Alex Salmond to face Holyrood inquiry amid conspiracy claims

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Alex Salmond is to be questioned by MSPs over his claims of a "malicious and concerted" conspiracy against him.

The former first minister is to appear at Holyrood as part of an inquiry into the government's mishandling of sexual harassment complaints about him.

The four-hour session is expected to focus on that botched probe and the accusations made by Mr Salmond.

Nicola Sturgeon has challenged her predecessor to prove his claims, saying there is "not a shred of evidence".

The first minister is expected to give evidence to the inquiry committee herself on Wednesday.

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The Holyrood session with Mr Salmond is due to begin at 12:30.

It has been delayed on several occasions due to a row over his written submissions, which make a range of accusations about the conduct of the first minister, government officials, the SNP and the prosecution service.

He wrote that there had been "a deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort amongst a range of individuals within the Scottish government and the SNP to damage my reputation, even to the extent of having me imprisoned".

And he claimed there had been a "complete breakdown of the necessary barriers which should exist between government, political party and indeed the prosecution authorities".

He has also taken aim directly at Ms Sturgeon, accusing her of "repeatedly" misleading parliament about her involvement in the row and of breaching the ministerial code.

The SNP leader has hit back Mr Salmond's claims, saying he is "creating an alternative reality in which the organs of the state...are all part of some wild conspiracy against him for reasons I can't explain".

And she has challenged him to back the allegations up with proof, saying he has an "obligation" to "replace the insinuation and assertion we have heard over several months now with evidence".

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The Scottish Parliament inquiry was set up after the government admitted its investigation of two harassment complaints against Mr Salmond had been unlawful.

An internal probe had upheld the complaints - which dated back to when he was first minister - but the decision report was torn up after the government conceded in court that the investigation had been "procedurally unfair" and "tainted by apparent bias".

Mr Salmond was awarded more than £500,000 in legal expenses following the judicial review case, and was subsequently acquitted of sexual assault charges in a separate High Court trial.

The inquiry session will see Mr Salmond give an opening statement, and then take questions from the MSPs on the committee for up to four hours.

The group consists of four SNP MSPs - one of whom, Deputy Presiding Officer Linda Fabiani, acts as convener - as well as two from the Scottish Conservatives, one from each of Scottish Labour and the Lib Dems, and independent MSP Andy Wightman, formerly of the Greens.

The committee has frequently been at odds with the key players in the row, having complained of "obstruction" and submissions which provide "very few clear answers".

Legal concerns

There has also been a lengthy row over whether one of Mr Salmond's submissions - which accuses Ms Sturgeon of breaching the ministerial code - could be published at all.

Members twice voted against publishing it at all due to legal issues, before Holyrood's cross-party management board intervened to say it could be. However, the Crown Office then raised "grave concerns" about its contents, and the paper was taken off the parliament's website and redacted - forcing yet another delay to Mr Salmond's long-awaited session.

The committee has agreed to apply to the High Court for "specific guidance" about what can and cannot be published, and to attempt to requisition further documents linked to Mr Salmond's criminal trial from the Crown Office.

Ms Sturgeon is due to give evidence on Wednesday, 3 March - which she said was the sixth date she had now had in her diary to face the committee.

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February 26, 2021 at 10:58AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56198842