THE women at the centre of Holyrood's harassment inquiry have said they will be making a formal complaint to the Scottish Parliament after their evidence was leaked to a newspaper.
In a statement released through Rape Crisis Scotland, the two civil servants who made complaints against Alex Salmond while he was first minister said they would be making a formal complaint over the leak.
A story in The Sunday Times claims the women, giving evidence in private last Monday, painted a picture of a demeaning environment for women, with one saying it was "like the Wild West".
Their statement, released last night, said the leak was a breach of the MSP code of conduct, as well as "a violation of the trust we placed in the committee", as well as raising concerns about the accuracy of the leak.
James Hamilton QC, the independent adviser on the ministerial code Photo PA
It added: "The reporting of our evidence has included inaccuracies and distortions, which appear to be intended to serve a political agenda.
"Complainers in this case have been subject to regular attacks and misrepresentations on social media, and have found their experiences repeatedly exploited for political purposes during the inquiry.
"For a committee members to perpetuate this is indefensible and an abuse of their position.
"We will be making a formal complaint."
Andy Wightman, the former Scottish Greens MSP, who now sits as an independent MSP on the inquiry, hit out at the leak.
He wrote on Twitter last night: "Been keeping away from social media this weekend but I’m lost for words at the leak to Times and shocked that the paper used it to be honest. They trusted us with their testimony. I am truly sorry that they’ve been betrayed yet again."
The inquiry is expected to come to a head this week, with the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints due to publish its final report tomorrow morning.
READ MORE: Ken Macintosh: Nicola Sturgeon scrutinised more than any other world leader
Portions of the report, where MSPs voted 5-4 to conclude that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled the committee over a meeting with Mr Salmond, were leaked last week.
The First Minister described the leak as "partisan", while the committee's convener Linda Fabiani said she was "dismayed" the information had been disclosed before the final report was published.
The independent investigation into the ministerial code, being conducted by James Hamilton, is also expected to report this week and could prove more dangerous for the current First Minister if she was found to have knowingly breached the code.
Sturgeon referred herself for investigation after she was accused of misleading parliament over when she knew about allegations against Salmond.
The Scottish Tories have given Sturgeon until tomorrow to resign, or she will face a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, due to what the party says is "overwhelming" proof she broke the ministerial code.
READ MORE: Alex Salmond planning to make statement as Holyrood dissolves, reports say
Holyrood sits for the last day on Wednesday before the elections on May 6.
Under legal challenge from Salmond in 2019, the Scottish Government conceded its investigation into the complaints against him was unlawful because it was “procedurally unfair” and “tainted by apparent bias”.
Salmond was later charged with sexual offences and last year acquitted in the High Court in Edinburgh of all 13 charges against him.
The Holyrood committee was set up to find out what went wrong in the government's investigation which lead to the former first minister being awarded more than £500,000 from the taxpayer in legal costs.
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