Police assess complaint made by Alex Salmond about harassment probe leak

The development follows the publication last week of a report by James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions in the Irish Republic and the independent adviser on the ministerial code.

Hamilton, who cleared Nicola Sturgeon (below) of any breach of the code, said the issue of an alleged leak was outside his remit but said that "if Mr Salmond has evidence to support this complaint he should refer the matter to the police."

He wrote: "Mr Salmond has asked for an investigation into whether an alleged criminal leak of part of the contents of the Permanent Secretary’s Decision report to the Daily Record was sourced from the First Minister’s Office.

"It is no part of my function and I have no power to investigate criminal offences. If Mr Salmond has evidence to support this complaint he should refer the matter to the police."

It is now understood the former first minister's team made a formal complaint to the police at the weekend.

A previous report by the Information Commissioner's Office cleared the Scottish Government.

It said they had “sympathy” with the former first minister’s belief that the leak came from an employee of the Scottish Government, however they could find “no evidence that a third party or an employee from the Scottish Government unlawfully obtained or disclosed personal data relating to Mr Alex Salmond.”

READ MORE: Alex Salmond calls for police probe into harassment complaint leak to Daily Record

Today a source close to the former first minister told The National: "Alex was very dissatisfied at the Commissioner’s findings and feels that a full police inquiry is needed that must involve people inside and outside of the Government. He has now done what James Hamilton recommended."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said last night: "We have a received a complaint regarding the potential unlawful disclosure of information and this is being assessed."

Details of the investigation into the complaints from two female civil servants against Salmond were published in the Daily Record in August 2018 sending shockwaves across Scotland.

Last week, just days before he launched the Alba Party, the former first minister referred to both the Hamilton and a Holyrood committee report into the handling of the investigation in a statement he released and said he would be making a complaint to the police about the matter.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond statement: Former first minister announces new legal action

"The report of Mr James Hamilton [below] makes clear that the question of the leak of the story of the original complaints in August 2018 was not part of his remit but should instead be referred to the Police.

"The parliamentary committee report was fully condemnatory of that same leak noting the extreme level of damage to all concerned. I agree. (para 17 of Hamilton Report, paras 408-414 of committee report)

"I will accordingly now make that complaint to the police and allow them to discover who within the Scottish Government was responsible for passing these details to the Daily Record newspaper. I have every confidence that Police Scotland will pursue that matter with rigour."

The ICO’s investigation identified 23 members of staff who had knowledge of the investigation.

The Scottish Government was fiercely criticised by the Holyrood harassment committee over the leak. In their final report, the cross-party group of MSPs expressed concern “at how details of the complaints made their way into the press via the leak to the Daily Record.”

The report added: “The committee’s view is that this was damaging for both the complainers and the former First Minister. The committee notes that the former first ninister was at least able to issue a statement to the media refuting the allegations. However, the women who made the complaints had no control over this process nor a voice in it. The committee has heard about the incredible toll that this has taken on Ms A and Ms B.

“The committee is not in a position to judge how the information came to be in the public domain, however the fact is that it was made public and that is a matter of significant concern.

“Confidentiality of an investigation is of paramount importance and the leaking of such information is extremely serious. Should the identity of the person who leaked the information ever come to light, they should be held to account for their actions.”

In his statement last Wednesday Salmond also announced his intention to pursue a separate legal action against the Scottish Government over the conduct of the Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans.

READ MORE: Alex Salmond: Police boss warned Government not to go public with investigation

After Salmond’s initial statement, a Scottish Government spokesman said: "For the avoidance of doubt, the Scottish Government is clear that both an Information Commissioner's Office investigation and an internal leak inquiry found no evidence to support Mr Salmond's claims that there was any leak from the Scottish government about the complaints made against him."

During his evidence session to the Holyrood harassment inquiry, the former first minister suggested that details of the probe into two complaints had been shared with the paper by someone in Nicola Sturgeon’s office.

He told MSPs that the Scottish Government had initially wanted to put out a press statement revealing the complaints and the findings of the investigation on August 23, 2018.

However, he and his lawyers said they would launch an interdict in a bid to stop the sending of the media release. That led to the Government revising plans to alert the press.

However, hours later the Daily Record contacted the former first minister to say they had knowledge of the complaints.

The former first minister then launched a successful legal challenge against the Scottish Government over its investigation with the Court of Session finding the probe was unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias".