A watchdog is probing claims an MSP leaked the conclusions of Holyrood’s inquiry into the handling of allegations against Alex Salmond.
It is understood the Ethical Standards Commissioner is investigating whether any member of the Scottish Parliament committee breached the code of conduct.
A key focus of the commissioner is believed to be the source of information given to broadcaster Sky News days before a cross-party group of MSPs planned to report its findings.
Committee members have been asked to hand over electronic communications – including text messages, WhatsApp messages and e-mails – as part of the probe.
It is believed the inquiry could take several months and is in its first phase ahead of a decision on moving to a more detailed investigation.
Backlash at Salmond inquiry committee
Sky News reported at the time that a majority on the committee had concluded that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had misled parliament.
The revelation sparked a storm of controversy, including a backlash against committee members.
Former MSP Andy Wightman marked the anniversary of the row a few days ago by claiming on social media he believed an SNP member of the committee leaked the draft findings.
He wrote: “The vicious smears and lies spun by the SNP comms machine plus the timings of documents I circulated leads me to the conclusion that it was an SNP member of the committee who leaked these findings to the SNP media in order to spend the next four days trashing the committee.”
This remains one of the most serious breaches of the MSP Code of Conduct ever to have taken place. Having been at the centre of events I am not very confident that I know who was responsible. 3/9
— Andy Wightman (@andywightman) March 20, 2022
The SNP responded: “No SNP member on the committee leaked anything from the inquiry – to suggest this to be the case is ludicrous and without a shred of foundation.”
Mr Wightman replaced Alison Johnstone on the committee, which was chaired by the SNP’s Linda Fabiani.
Other members were Alasdair Allan, Stuart McMillan and Maureen Watt from the SNP, as well as Conservatives’ Margaret Mitchell and Murdo Fraser, Labour’s Jackie Baillie and Liberal Democrat Alex Cole-Hamilton.
The Herald previously reported there had been a huge rise in complaints about MSPs to the Ethical Standards Commissioner in the wake of the inquiry.
A total of 763 official complaints were made about MSPs in 2020/21, with about 730 thought to be linked to the committee.
It compared to annual totals of 109 complaints in 2019/20 and 23 in 2018/19.
The Herald reported 584 of the 763 complaints were about alleged breach of confidentiality.
We understand all of the committee members are the subject of complaints.
‘Super-complaint’
In response to our request for comment, the office of the Ethical Standards Commissioner said it was “required to treat all complaints received by the office confidentially”.
It added: “As a consequence, we are unable to respond to media speculation relating to complaints that we have received.”
Last month, acting commissioner Ian Bruce told Holyrood’s standards committee: “There is the very large complaint— the super-complaint, we call it in the office.
“I cannot talk about it, but the numbers are available.
“It is still under investigation. It is very complex and there are an awful lot of moving parts.”
The MSP code of conduct states: “All drafts of committee reports, and committee reports which, although agreed by a committee and no longer in draft, have not yet been published, must be kept confidential, unless the committee decides otherwise.”
The committee on the Scottish Government handling of harassment complaints was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in a Scottish Government investigation into him being ruled unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”.
A £512,250 payout was awarded to the former first minister for legal fees in 2019.
Mr Salmond was separately cleared of all charges against him after a criminal trial.
The committee concluded that two women who complained about Mr Salmond were badly let down with “serious flaws” and “catastrophic” decisions by the government.
A separate probe by James Hamilton, Ireland’s former director of public prosecutions, found that Ms Sturgeon did not breach the ministerial code of conduct in relation to the inquiry.