NICOLA Sturgeon told John Swinney to “be ready” to take over as First Minister as she awaited the verdict of the Alex Salmond inquiries, it has been reported.
The First Minister was preparing Swinney for a step up if she was found to have broken the ministerial code by the Hamilton Inquiry.
Sturgeon did not resign after the report, released on March 22, which cleared her of any breaches, but is one insight from the book Break-Up: How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War by David Clegg and Kieran Andrews, due to be released this week.
Andrews, Scottish Political Editor at The Times, and Clegg, editor of the Courier, revealed the contingency plans in an extract published by The Sunday Times.
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The extract said that in the days before the report’s decision was published, Sturgeon was taking counsel from her “closest allies”.
The book said: “These included Swinney, whom she told to ‘be ready’ for what might come at the start of the week. In effect, she was preparing him to step up and take over as leader of the government and try to reunite a fractured SNP just weeks before a crucial Holyrood election.”
Noting Sturgeon’s increased popularity due to clearly communicated Covid-19 briefings, the book continued that she views the office of First Minister as “more important than her personal survival”.
It added: “And she would have resigned if Hamilton had been overtly critical or found that she had broken the rules.”
Swinney was seen as the "safe" successor to Sturgeon if she quit
The book claims this would have caused “chaos” for the Scottish Government and SNP in the run up to the May 6 Scottish parliamentary election.
It continued: “It was to this end that Swinney was seen as the safe pair of hands to provide some calm amid the potential storm.”
Meanwhile, the excerpt also gives an insight into the timeline and events which led to Alex Salmond’s arrest.
On boxing day 2018, a senior Police Scotland officer phoned Salmond’s lawyer to ask the former FM to come in for an interview – offering the date of January 8, 2019.
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However, this was the same day that the Scottish Government’s investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Salmond would be ruled “unlawful, unfair and ‘tainted by apparent bias’ at the Court of Session in Edinburgh”, the book says.
Salmond’s lawyer, David McKie, asked the detectives to reconsider how it would look “if Salmond were questioned on the same date he was due to appear for his civil case”.
The date was changed and the interview booked for January 23 at Dalkieth police station.
The charges against Alex Salmond which were later dropped before trial were also revealed.
The book also looks at Salmond's interactions with Police Scotland
There were two allegations of breach of the peace “involving sexualised communications” and a “single charge of indecent assault on the airport campus”. They were said to have taken place at an “unknown” point in 2007.
There was also a charge of “culpable and reckless conduct” which named a Scottish Government driver as the complainant.
The book said: “Salmond had no idea what was being referred to and had to be told it was a story widely shared among his team of special advisers.
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“It related to a bottle of sparkling water being handed to the then first minister by his spokesman Ross Ingebrigtsen in a ministerial car. Upon opening, the bottle exploded, soaking everyone in the vehicle.
“Another accusation that was later dropped was that of physical assault against the SNP’s chief operating officer Sue Ruddick during campaigning for the 2008 Glenrothes by-election.”
Break-Up: How Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon Went to War is out on Tuesday August 31.
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