FORMER First Minister Alex Salmond has secured a legal victory ahead of his case against the Scottish Government over the handling of harassment allegations.
The government will be forced to fully reveal emails and notes relating to the sexual harassment claims made against him.
Salmond's lawyers had insisted that the documents needed to be examined without redactions, as they were relevant to how the complaints were investigated.
His legal action against the Scottish Government relates to its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct made by two women, which he has strongly denied.
In response to the legal victory, a spokesman for Salmond said: "The situation remains the same. We will do our talking in court next month."
His legal team are arguing that the investigation process was unfair, saying the civil servant investigating the complaints was biased due to her prior knowledge of them.
A source close to Salmond said: "This is a big development, it proves that the Scottish Government has something to hide."
Judge Lord Pentland ruled that emails and notes will be handed to an external commissioner, Morag Ross QC, to decide whether their contents are relevant.
They had been substantially redacted by the Scottish Government, arguing that they were covered by a confidentiality agreement.
Lord Pentland said: “Essentially, I’m satisfied that it is in the interest of justice for this to be done.
“I have given careful consideration to the fact that the respondent gave qualified assurance of confidentiality to Ms A and Ms B.
“The law is clear and this was, I understand, expressed to the complainers that such assurance can never be definitive.
“This is an appropriate case for the confidentiality undertaking to be overwritten by the court.”
He said the identity of the two women – known simply as Ms A and Ms B – will be “fully protected”.
The documents to be released include emails sent in January and notes from a meeting between one of the complainers and a senior Scottish Government official on November 22 last year.
Ronnie Clancy QC, representing Salmond, had rejected claims by the government's lawyer that the contents did not reveal anything new.
He said that was “quite a remarkable turn of events given the very guarded and defensive position that the respondents have adopted up until now”.
He added: “I refuse to accept without sight of these documents that they contain nothing more than we know already.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel