THE Scottish Government have denied that Nicola Sturgeon misled parliament about when she knew of sexual misconduct complaints against Alex Salmond.
An unseen account has led to questions over whether the First Minister took part in a "discussion about the investigation" before the date she gave to parliament.
A rift developed between Scotland's current First Minister and her predecessor amid the allegations of sexual harassment made against Salmond, for which he has since been acquitted in the High Court.
Sturgeon, who served as Salmond's deputy for seven years, has likened the breakdown in their relationship to the grieving process.
The former SNP leader separately took the Scottish Government to court over the way it initially dealt with the allegations, and the Court of Session ruled in January 2019 its actions had been "unlawful".
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: 'Relief' Alex Salmond story will be told
Sturgeon told parliament she was informed of complaints against Salmond when he told her himself on April 2, 2018. However, Sky News claims a previously unseen account of an earlier meeting contradicts her version of events.
It indicates she was involved in a "discussion about the investigation" before the date she gave to parliament.
The questions arise from events in 2018, when two female civil servants made complaints of historical sexual misconduct against Salmond, which he strenuously denied.
The Scottish government mounted an inquiry but it was abandoned after Salmond launched a legal challenge and the Court of Session found the handling of the investigation was "tainted by apparent bias".
The contradiction surrounding Sturgeon's version of events centres on what she knew of the Scottish government's inquiry - and when.
In a statement to the Scottish Parliament in January 2019, she said she was informed of the inquiry by Salmond himself on April 2, 2018.
However, it emerged during Salmond's recent criminal trial that a meeting took place four days before on 29 March 2018.
The meeting took place in the First Minister's Holyrood office and was attended by Sturgeon, a government official and Geoff Aberdein, Salmond's former chief of staff and apparently the sexual assault complaints were discussed.
The account, seen by Sky News, states: "The conversation was around the fact of the complaints, without discussing the specifics of them.
"There was discussion about the investigation, the process of it, the fact it was a civil service investigation being conducted by civil servants."
A Scottish government spokesperson told Sky News that Sturgeon does not dispute that the 29 March meeting took place but refutes the suggestion that it involved discussion of the Scottish government's Salmond inquiry.
The spokesperson was asked if the FM misled the Scottish Parliament when she told MSPs that it was Salmond who informed her of the investigation into complaints against him on April 2, 2018.
They responded: "The First Minister stands by her statement to parliament."
The Scottish Government made no comment on whether minutes were kept of the meeting on March 29 and whether it was recorded in the diaries of either Sturgeon or the government official present.
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