JOHN Swinney has said the Scottish Government could still hand over legal advice about its botched investigation into harassment allegations made against Alex Salmond.

The ex-First Minister took his former colleagues to court and had the results of the probe set aside at a judicial review. 

Holyrood has now twice voted that the legal advice obtained by the Government to contest that action be released. 

Reports this morning suggest the Deputy First Minister could this week be set to tell MSPs that that won’t happen. 

Refusing to hand over the advice will almost certainly lead to a vote of no confidence in Swinney. The SNP don't have a majority in Holyrood and there’s every chance Nicola Sturgeon’s number two could lose that vote.

Asked about releasing the advice, Swinney told Sophy Ridge on Sky News it was still being considered.

He said:"The Government's original position was that we do not release legal advice and no Government releases legal advice except in very exceptional circumstances.

"What I've said is that we will consider the fact that the Parliament has voted in that way. That consideration is ongoing at the present moment and that work is being undertaken to determine what approach we should take to responding to what Parliament has undertaken.

"So the issue is not closed, it's very much under active consideration within the Scottish Government and I will be updating Parliament as soon as I've got a conclusion on the handling of that issue."

Asked whether the advice might be published he replied: "There is a possibility that we might do that because Parliament has asked us to do that and I'm now reflecting on that particular issue.

"At no stage have I closed the door on that issue, I've simply set out the fact that ordinarily governments don't publish their legal advice."

Meanwhile, the Tories accused Nicola Sturgeon of lying about Salmond during an interview with the Andrew Marr programme.

The host asked Sturgeon about when she first heard about allegations of harassment. 

In a previous appearance on the show, she said it was April 2018 when she became aware of the complaints. 

During an appearance on the programme in October 2018, she was asked “had you heard any stories about him (Alex Salmond) before it broke in the press”.

Sturgeon responded: “Of this nature, absolutely not. I’ve said previously Alex Salmond informed me about these complaints in April, that was the first I had known.”

However, earlier this year, the First Minister revealed there had been a meeting in March 2018 with Geoff Aberdein, Salmond’s former chief of staff covering “allegations of a sexual nature”.

Sturgeon also knew about “allegations of sexual misconduct” as far back as November 2017, following media inquiries from Sky News.

Speaking on the show on Sunday, Sturgeon said: “I stand by what I said back then. I have set out what I knew and when.”

She added that people were “conflating two issues”.

She said: “I was speaking about the issues that had been raised under the Scottish Government processes – I've set out written evidence on that and I will give oral evidence to the inquiry.

“What I have also set out in that written evidence is that Sky News, back in November the previous year, had raised a query about allegations about Alex Salmond – they never at that time ran that story. That’s what I have set out in the written evidence that I was aware of back then.”

Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, said: “The First Minister has clearly lied about when she knew of allegations of sexual misconduct against Alex Salmond.

“Nicola Sturgeon’s weak political spin that Andrew Marr was conflating two issues doesn’t wash. He point-blank asked the First Minister if she had heard any stories about Alex Salmond and she claimed to only find out in April.

“Her answer was not even in the realms of the truth. The public deserve an explanation and an apology. By doubling down on this clear-cut lie, Nicola Sturgeon is disgracing the office of the First Minister.”

On Saturday, the SNP MP Joanna Cherry called for the ex-leader to be welcomed back into the party. 

She said the former First Minister’s “place in the party’s history” should be "reinstated”.

“The not guilty verdict needs to be respected by all of us,” she said.

During her appearance on the show, Marr asked Sturgeon if she would welcome Salmond back into the SNP.

The First Minister said the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints inquiry, and a separate investigation into whether she breached the ministerial code, must be allowed to be completed.

She responded: "I'm not going to get into these issues today.

"There is a parliamentary inquiry under way, there is an inquiry into my conduct in terms of the ministerial code.

"I think it is important to allow these inquiries to take their course.

"There are important issues of political scrutiny and accountability, I have no issues with that, but I think it is important to allow those processes under way to take their course."