FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s position is being “jeopardised” by claims of “murky goings-on” in the Alex Salmond case, one of her former advisers had claimed.
Campbell Gunn, who worked for Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, wrote that “one or two people losing their jobs” over the Government’s botched handling of the controversy must "surely" be a “political price worth paying”.
He urged the Government to get “everything out in the open” and warned of the political dangers of the row dragging on until the end of the year.
A Holyrood committee is investigating how the Scottish Government handled complaints of harassment against Salmond when he was First Minister.
Salmond took the Scottish Government to court in a civil action with the court ruling the inquiry had been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.
The Scottish Government probe is said to have ended the long-standing political friendship between Sturgeon and Salmond.
MSPs on the Holyrood committee are trying to find out how procedures to deal with civil servants' complaints against ministers and former minister were drawn up, what went wrong in the inquiry into the complaints made by officials against the former First Minister that that cost the taxpayer over £500,000, and what lessons can be learnt.
However, the committee inquiry has been marked by rows with the Government over the non-disclosure of information.
While the Government has cited legal privilege as a reason for why some documents cannot be handed over, critics have accused it of secrecy.
In an article for the Press and Journal, Gunn, a former Sunday Post political editor, who used to be Salmond's spokesman, urged transparency from the Scottish Government.
“The remedy is simple and straightforward. Avoid the drip-drip of allegations over a long period of time, by getting everything – whether damaging or not – into the open immediately.
“Take the short-term hit for long-term gain. If that means one or two people are forced to resign or are sacked by the First Minister, then surely that’s what has to happen.”
On Sturgeon, Gunn wrote: “No-one wants to see Scotland head for independence more than me. And I firmly believe that Nicola Sturgeon is, by a distance, the best person to lead us to that goal.
“But her position is being jeopardised by the almost daily allegations that there were murky goings-on behind the scenes that led to the sexual harassment and criminal charges being laid against Alex Salmond.”
Gunn criticised Leslie Evans, the top civil servant in the Government, and added: “The danger for the Scottish Government is that the Salmond inquiry and the emergence of new and damaging revelations could continue for months, perhaps beyond the end of the year.”
He offered advice: “The solution for the Scottish Government is clear. Don’t cover up. Get everything out in the open.
“Take the inevitable media hit. It will last only a few days or a couple of weeks, instead of months.
“If the revelations result in one or two people losing their jobs, that must surely be a political price worth paying.”
Allies of Salmond believe there was a conspiracy among supporters of Sturgeon against the former First Minister in a bid to prevent him returning to the political front line.
The First Minister has described such claims as a "heap of nonsense."
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