HOLYROOD’S harassment inquiry has said it will not order Alex Salmond’s lawyers to hand over evidence provided to the former First Minister for his criminal trial defence.
However, the parliamentary committee yesterday ordered the Crown Office to provide all correspondence involving senior government officials about the handling of complaints made about Salmond.
When he appeared before the committee, Salmond suggested that MSPs could ask his legal team to hand over documents they had received as part of the court proceedings.
But Linda Fabiani, the committee convener, has now written to his lawyers to suggest it would be unlawful to order them to release them.
Section 162 of the 2010 Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act prohibits the release of evidence provided to Salmond for use in his criminal trial, which saw the former SNP leader cleared of 13 counts of sexual assault.
Salmond had argued that the threat of prosecution by the Crown Office prevented him from sharing material directly with the committee that he claimed proves there was a plot against him.
Salmond therefore suggested the committee could still use powers under Section 23 of the Scotland Act to compel his lawyers to release that information, and they would be willing to comply.
In a letter to Levy and McRae solicitors, Fabiani said it “would not be appropriate” to use those powers “in a way that the Parliament has agreed would be unlawful”.
She added that any further evidence they may have that was not disclosed in defence preparations for Salmond’s criminal trial would be welcomed, with a deadline of Monday morning.
However, rather than compelling Levy and McRae to provide the material, the parliament has issued a new Section 24 notice to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), demanding it provides correspondence between the Scottish Government’s communications director Barbara Allison, and permanent secretary Leslie Evans, director of people Nicola Richards, or Judith Mackinnon – the investigating officer whose prior contact with complainers fundamentally jeopardised the legality of the investigation into Salmond.
The committee also wants to see all communication relating to the development and implementation of the harassment complaints policy used to investigate Salmond in a bid to establish if there is evidence of the claim it was “used to damage the reputation of Alex Salmond”.
This documentation must be provided by 5pm tomorrow.
Commenting on the decision to order the Crown Office to release the papers, Scottish Tory committee member Murdo Fraser said: “We are determined to use every means at our disposal to establish why Nicola Sturgeon’s government recklessly pursued an unlawful course of action in defiance of clear legal advice.”
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