Alex Salmond is threatening legal action against Scotland’s most senior civil servant and has called for a police inquiry into the leak of the Scottish government’s botched harassment inquiry findings.
In a short statement, the former first minister said the findings of the three independent and Holyrood inquiries into the harassment controversy “must be accepted” despite their “manifest limitations”.
Despite that, Salmond said he felt compelled to take further legal action against Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary to the Scottish government. Evans “still refuses to accept real responsibility” for the expensive failures of the internal inquiry into harassment claims against him, he said.
That was despite the Holyrood inquiry singling Evans out for heavy criticism, he said, and despite his first judicial review victory against Evans and the devolved government in January 2019. The government investigation was found to be unlawful on procedural grounds, by the court, and all its findings voided.
“This cannot stand,” Salmond said in his statement on Wednesday, as he responded to the end of three inquiries into the controversy.
Nicola Sturgeon, who has been cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her dealings with Salmond, has made clear she supports Evans. A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The first minister retains her confidence in the permanent secretary, who has operated at all times in line with the civil service code and legal advice received.”
The Holyrood committee stopped short of demanding Evans stand down, but implied she should go. It said the government was guilty of “serious, substantial and entirely avoidable” failures and “those responsible should be held accountable”.
Salmond added that he was also formally asking Police Scotland to launch an investigation into the leak to the Daily Record newspaper, in August 2018, of the government inquiry’s decision to uphold complaints against him from two female civil servants.
The Record also disclosed the government’s findings would be passed on to Police Scotland, which soon launched its own criminal investigation, named Operation Diem. The information commissioner has previously found there is no evidence it was leaked by a Scottish government official.
Scottish government papers and a letter from Salmond’s lawyers, Levy & McRae, show civil servants initially tabled 11 separate “cases of concern” against Salmond, including eight from the two complainers Ms A and Ms B, once the government investigation was launched in January 2018.
The government described them as “serious complaints” in a letter from Evans to Levy McRae on 18 July 2018, which was released by the government as part of its disclosures to the Holyrood inquiry.
Salmond has consistently and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Evans quoted Salmond’s rebuttal of the complaints against him. He said in April 2018: “None of the allegations are admitted” and “I categorically deny that I have ever harassed any civil servant.”
Evans records that Salmond made a substantive response to causes for concern J, K and L, and put forward five witnesses about those allegations. It is understood at least one of those cases, designated incident K, was dropped.
Salmond’s lawyer told Evans they were unable to properly respond to the other claims because they had not seen the complainers’ statements, did not know the names of witnesses nor had any access to official records and diaries.
Salmond has since stated he was never officially given the names of Ms A and Ms B, although the identity of Ms A was allegedly leaked to one of his close allies, Geoff Aberdein, in March 2018.
The government’s report has never been released: it has not been officially confirmed how many of the 11 original complaints were considered or upheld in the final report. Salmond refused to comment on Wednesday.
The police were given a summary of the government findings in August 2018 and its investigation led to Salmond being prosecuted for 14 sexual assault offences. Two involved Ms A, including a sexual assault with intent to rape, and one involved Ms B. Salmond was acquitted of every charge after a high court trial in March 2020, including those which came out of the government inquiry.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said it has been clear it will reflect carefully on the reports published in recent days and that lessons will be learned, adding: “It would be inappropriate to comment on a hypothetical legal action or in relation to a matter which Mr Salmond has said that he may raise with the police.”
