ALEX Salmond could soon attend a session of the Holyrood inquiry investigating the SNP Government’s handling of complaints against him.

It comes after the Spectator magazine today partially won a legal battle challenging a contempt of court order around the former First Minister's criminal trial. 

Lady Dorrian has decided to tweak that order which could mean there’s now no impediment to parliament publishing Salmond’s submission to the separate ministerial code investigation. 

If that's accepted by the committee it's incredibly likely the ex-SNP leader will appear before MSPs.

READ MORE: First Minister urges committee to compel Alex Salmond to appear

The Holyrood inquiry was thrown into chaos on Tuesday, after MSPs on the committee narrowly voted against publishing the submission.

The vote was wafer-thin, with just the four SNP MSPs plus the independent Andy Wightman voting against publication.

The rest of the committee, Tory MSPs Murdo Fraser and Margaret Mitchell, LibDem Alex Cole-Hamilton, and Labour’s Jackie Baillie voted for the document to be published with redactions.

Salmond was supposed to have given evidence to the committee this week, but his legal team say publication of the allegations is necessary for him to be able to tell the whole truth.

The cross-party committee is investigating the Scottish Government’s flawed probe into allegations of misconduct made against Salmond by two civil servants.

He had the exercise set aside in January 2019, with a judicial review declaring it “unlawful” and “tainted by bias”. The Government’s botched handling ultimately cost the taxpayer half a million pounds.

At a later criminal case the former SNP leader was cleared on all charges brought against him. 

Following the Scottish Government’s concession of the judicial review, Nicola Sturgeon referred herself to the independent advisers on the Ministerial Code over claims she had broken strict rules by failing to swiftly declare the three meetings and two phone calls with Salmond about the harassment complaints.

Scottish Government guidelines say that when discussing official business “any significant content” should be reported back to private offices.

James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions in Ireland, has been tasked with investigating the First Minister’s actions.

In his submission to the Hamilton inquiry, Salmond claimed the First Minister had “repeatedly misled” MSPs about meetings between the two at Sturgeon’s home.

Sturgeon told parliament that she became aware of the government’s investigation of the allegations against Salmond when he told her at a meeting in her Glasgow home on April 2, 2018.

However, it later emerged that she met Geoff Aberdein, Salmond’s former chief of staff, in her office on March 29, 2018.

In her evidence to the cross-party Holyrood inquiry, Sturgeon said she had forgotten that meeting. 

However, Salmond told Hamilton this position was "untenable" and that the First Minister knew exactly why there were meeting in April.

Earlier this month, the Wings Over Scotland blog and The Spectator magazine both published Salmond’s submission.

In the High Court on Thursday Lady Dorrian agreed to change the wording of the contempt order relating to the Alex Salmond trial, to clarify its scope.

She is to set out her written reasons early next week. The Tories and Labour said this gave the Scottish Parliament permission to now publish the papers - as well as other evidence currently withheld by the committee, include a submission from Aberdein.

Tory and Labour MSPs on the committee are asking for an emergency meeting tomorrow. 

Labour’s interim leader Jackie Baillie said Lady Dorrian’s decision meant the committee could publish the testimony.

However, our committee source said tomorrow may be too soon to reach any decision on publishing the former First Minister’s submission.

They said Parliament’s lawyers would first need to see Lady Dorrian’s written reasons for the tweak, which will be published early next week. 

Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “We have been saying from the outset that our committee will not be able to do its job properly unless we are able to question Alex Salmond in person.

“While we await the full details of the revised order and what implications it will have, I am satisfied that we now have grounds to compel Salmond to attend.

“I would expect SNP members to agree that this must happen, as suggested yesterday by Nicola Sturgeon herself.

“Sturgeon has already lied to parliament by saying she and her party would ensure full co-operation with the inquiry. The reality has been a cynical and determined campaign to thwart us at every turn.”

Scottish Labour interim leader and committee member Jackie Baillie said: “This decision presents the Committee with the opportunity to publish the evidence and question Mr Salmond – we must seize that opportunity with both hands.

“It is clear from today’s decision that the publication of the evidence is in the public interest and that it may be used by the Committee.

“It is the duty of the Committee to get to the bottom of this fiasco and understand why the Scottish Government’s procedures were so flawed and why the women involved were badly let down.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due in front of the inquiry next Tuesday.