Statement on the publication of evidence to the SGHHC Committee

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Below is a statement from the Scottish Parliament in response to the votes this morning in the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints on the publication of written evidence from Alex Salmond on the Ministerial Code.

I agree with this statement.

BEGINS
The default position for the Committee has always been that it would publish as much information as possible. However, the work of this Committee must respect relevant legal obligations, including court orders made in relation to a judicial review and a criminal trial, which are aimed at protecting the anonymity of complainers. Whilst the issue of publication is ultimately a matter for the SPCB, the majority of the Committee is in agreement that it cannot publish given the legal constraints on it.

The Committee’s statement on the handling of information and evidence has been made clear to all witnesses giving evidence to the Committee, and this was highlighted to Mr Salmond when the Committee first wrote asking him to contribute to its inquiry on 7 July 2020 and again in October and November 2020.

The Committee would have been able to publish Mr Salmond’s submission, in line with the Committee’s statement, as it has his other submissions to the Committee. However, publication of the full submission in a manner that is readily accessible has made it impossible for the Committee to make the redactions needed to meet its legal obligations. This is clearly regrettable and something outwith the Committee’s control, but the Committee will not breach its data protection obligations or the court orders. This reasoning has been made clear to Mr Salmond on numerous occasions.

The Committee has corresponded extensively with Mr Salmond and his legal representatives since July (when he was first asked to make this submission by early August).  In addition to the issues around Mr Salmond’s submission, there are a number of conditions to his appearance that the Committee simply could never meet, including waiving threat of all legal prosecution. It is simply not within the Committee’s gift to make such a commitment.

The Committee will use the detailed submissions he had already made to the Committee, all of which have been published by Parliament in line with the Committee’s statement on written evidence, as well as the over 130 pages of documentation from his solicitor, to help complete its vital work. All of this can be used to question the First Minister and can be published in the Committee’s report.

 

Extract of decisions

Murdo Fraser proposed that the Committee agrees to publish Mr Salmond’s submission on the Ministerial Code phase of the inquiry with appropriate redactions.

The proposal was disagreed to by division: For 4 (Jackie Baillie, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Murdo Fraser, Margaret Mitchell), Against 5 (Alasdair Allan, Tom Arthur, Linda Fabiani, Maureen Watt, Andy Wightman),   Abstentions 0.

Maureen Watt proposed that the Committee agrees that, given the legal constraints on it, it is not able to publish any version of Mr Salmond’s 31 December 2020 submission on the Ministerial Code.

The proposal was agreed to by division: For 5 (Alasdair Allan, Tom Arthur, Linda Fabiani, Maureen Watt, Andy Wightman), Against 4 (Jackie Baillie, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Murdo Fraser, Margaret Mitchell),   Abstentions 0.

Margaret Mitchell proposed that given the committee cannot reach a unanimous position on the publication of Mr Salmond’s submission it should now go to the SPCB for decision.

The proposal was disagreed to by division: For 4 (Jackie Baillie, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Murdo Fraser, Margaret Mitchell), Against 5 (Alasdair Allan, Tom Arthur, Linda Fabiani, Maureen Watt, Andy Wightman),   Abstentions 0.

Andy Wightman asked to record in voting that he is a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.
ENDS