Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 25 November 2020
Here we go again. For the second time in three weeks, we are having a debate that concentrates on the release of legal advice pertaining to the judicial review by the former First Minister, Alex Salmond. It is deeply regrettable that parliamentarians from across the chamber are again calling for the publication of that evidence, and it is quite clear that the Scottish National Party and Scottish Government continue to delay its publication.
It is unacceptable for John Swinney to say that he will consider the issues raised in today’s debate. At the end of the previous debate, when the vote on the motion had been won, Mr Swinney stood up and said that he would consider the result of the vote. It is deeply inappropriate for him to then tell Parliament three weeks later that he will consider the issues. It shows that there is a trail of obstruction and cover-up that lies at the heart of the Scottish Government’s conduct on the issue.
When the issue first came to the fore 20 months ago, the First Minister stood where John Swinney sits just now and promised full transparency and full co-operation. What have we had? We have had delays, obstructions, cover-up, witnesses refusing to answer questions, witnesses having to change their evidence and the Deputy First Minister blocking two witnesses from coming to the committee. That raises deep and fundamental questions about accountability and the democratic process within the Scottish Parliament as an institution.
The other point that needs to be made is that the motivation of the SNP and the Scottish Government is political. They are not motivated by legal matters. It is clear that they are deeply concerned about what will be revealed about the Government’s conduct in the handling of the complaints against Alex Salmond and how that will reflect on members of the Government and the SNP. That political motivation is why the way in which the Lord Advocate has been compromised is inappropriate. Anyone looking at the Lord Advocate’s performance at the committee can see how difficult and uncomfortable it was for him. Basically, he is head of the Crown Office, but has to provide advice in a political context to members of the Government. That is the position that he has been put in, and it is deeply inappropriate.
One of the key issues that has come out in the debate is that publication of the legal advice and all the requests that the committee has made are in the public interest. There are two reasons for that: the £630,000 cost to the public; and the fundamental issues around the way in which the complainers were let down by the Scottish Government’s handling of the process.
It is time that that Parliament was treated properly by the Government, and not with contempt and disrespect. It is time that we had an end to the culture of secrecy. I say to the Government: publish the information with full transparency and let the committee get on with its work and reach its conclusions.
17:17