TORY MSP Oliver Mundell was kicked out of the Scottish Parliament yesterday after he called the First Minister a liar.
The Dumfriesshire MSP said Nicola Sturgeon had “lied” about handing over materials to the Holyrood committee probing the Scottish Government’s botched handling of harassment complaints made against Alex Salmond.
Sturgeon had previously told parliament that the inquiry would be “able to request whatever material they want”.
She promised MSPs her Government “will provide whatever material they request”.
However, ministers have repeatedly refused to hand over documents requested by the committee, citing legal privilege.
And on Tuesday, the committee’s convener said they were being obstructed and stalled with “responses still outstanding” from the Scottish Government, SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, and Salmond.
Mundell asked Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh to “ask the First Minister to explain why she lied to parliament”.
He was urged to rethink his language, and “apologise for using the term ‘liar’ in the Chamber”.
However, the Tory persisted.
He stood up and said he would apologise to Macintosh personally – but added he felt it was the “appropriate” word.
“I can’t find anything else that would express the sentiment,” he told MSPs.
The Presiding Officer then asked the MSP to leave the Chamber for using the “unacceptable” language.
Meanwhile, Linda Fabiani has bypassed the Scottish Government to ask Scotland’s highest court for documents relating to the case against the former First Minister.
In a letter to the principal clerk at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Fabiani said MSPs had decided to approach the court directly, “given the importance of these proceedings and the time constraints on the Committee in fulfilling its remit”.
She added: “We consider that having sight of some of the court documents is essential to enable the Committee to meet the terms of its remit.”
The committee asked for “all productions or evidence lodged in process by parties” as well as all affidavits, judicial decisions, pleadings, all information pertaining to legal fees/costs/expenses and all other formal court documents.
Yesterday also saw the Scottish Government asked to “come clean” over the cost to the taxpayer of fighting Salmond’s judicial review.
The call comes after the deputy first minister, John Swinney, refused to disclose the full cost to the Government of fighting that legal challenge.
Last January the judge said the probe was unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias” because the lead investigating officer had been in prior contact with the two complainers.
Salmond was awarded substantial costs of £512,000. Another £118,000 was spent by the Scottish Government on advice from a QC.
But the Government has refused to tell Labour’s Jackie Baillie how much it cost for a group of senior civil servants to work on the judicial review for several months.
In answer to the Labour MSP’s parliamentary question, Swinney said it wasn’t possible to work out the sum as staff working on responding to the judicial review were civil servants “who receive a salary rather than being separately remunerated for dealing with particular matters”.
Baillie said: “This is the latest example of the secrecy and obstruction that this committee has faced from the Scottish Government and it is quite simply unacceptable. We know that the judicial review cost a significant amount of public money. It is vital that the Scottish Government comes clean.”
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