Women to complain to parliament after Salmond evidence leaks

The women at the centre of the Salmond inquiry have said they will be making a formal complaint to the Scottish Parliament after their evidence was leaked to a newspaper.

In a statement released through Rape Crisis Scotland on Sunday, the two women who made complaints of harassment against former first minister Alex Salmond said they would be making a formal complaint over the leak.

A story in The Sunday Times claims the women, giving evidence in private last Monday, painted a picture of a demeaning environment for women, with one saying it was “like the Wild West”.

The statement said the leak was a breach of the MSP code of conduct, as well as “a violation of the trust we placed in the committee”, as well as raising concerns about the accuracy of the leak.

It added: “The reporting of our evidence has included inaccuracies and distortions, which appear to be intended to serve a political agenda.

“Complainers in this case have been subject to regular attacks and misrepresentations on social media, and have found their experiences repeatedly exploited for political purposes during the inquiry.

“For a committee members to perpetuate this is indefensible and an abuse of their position.

“We will be making a formal complaint.”

The inquiry is expected to come to a head this week, with the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints due to publish its final report.

Portions of the report, where MSPs voted 5-4 to conclude that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled the committee over a meeting with Salmond, were leaked last week.

The First Minister described the leak as “partisan”, while the committee’s convener Linda Fabiani said she was “dismayed” the information had been disclosed before the final report was published.

The independent investigation into the ministerial code, being conducted by James Hamilton, is also expected to report this week and could prove more dangerous for the current First Minister if she was found to have knowingly breached the code.

Nicola Sturgeon referred herself for investigation after she was accused of misleading parliament over when she knew about allegations against Salmond.

The Scottish Tories have given Sturgeon until Tuesday to resign, or she will face a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, due to what the party says is “overwhelming” proof she broke the ministerial code.