THE Scottish Government has been ordered to release hidden details of Angus Robertson’s meeting with an Israel-diplomat.
The Ferret reports that after a two-year Freedom of Information (FOI) battle, the Scottish Information Commissioner has ordered details to be released that had been “wrongly withheld”.
Robertson, the Scottish Government’s External Affairs Secretary, met with Daniela Grudsky, Israel’s deputy ambassador, in August 2024.
The meeting sparked controversy after it emerged that Robertson had described Scotland as a “critical friend” after Israel during the meeting, while the country was committing a genocide in Gaza.
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However, parts of documents released from that meeting were withheld by officials, who argued that making them public could damage relations between the UK and Israel.
The Scottish Government has until Monday, June 15 to publish the information.
Opposition politicians have called for it to be made public ahead of next week’s Holyrood election on May 7.
The first request by The Ferret for an official record of the Robertson-Grudsky meeting was rejected by the Scottish Government, but was later successfully appealed.
It revealed that while publicly stating that the “UK is in danger of being complicit in killing innocent civilians”, behind the scenes, the Scottish Government tried to set up an earlier meeting with Swinney and the ambassador and was talking itself up as a “critical friend” of Israel.
However, sections on the situation in the Middle East, antisemitism, and the relationship between Scotland and Israel were redacted.
The latest decision by David Hamilton, the Scottish Information Commissioner, has now ruled that those redacted parts must be made public.
The Scottish Government had argued against releasing the information, and included concerns about Israel’s potential reaction to the release of the material.
They argued that Israel was “prone to take significant and serious diplomatic responses when provoked”, that its behaviour could be “highly unusual” and “unpredictable” and sought the Israeli government’s view on releasing the information. They objected.
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The Scottish Government also contacted the UK Foreign Office who said publishing the material against Israel’s wishes was “highly likely to see a negative response”.
However Hamilton, noting Israel’s view, said that “the likelihood of harm or risk to relations here is insufficient to engage the exemption”.
He added that if Israel took "extreme exemption” to the information being released, then as it was released under FOI and not by the UK Government he “believes disclosure in these particular circumstances would be highly unlikely to significantly prejudice relations between the two governments.”
Robertson faced stiff criticism for the meeting with Grudsky. It was not publicised and only emerged after the deputy Israeli ambassador posted a picture of the pair on social media.
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In his statement responding to the backlash, Robertson contradicted reports that he had been asked to attend the controversial meeting by First Minister John Swinney, saying it had “rightly” been his own decision – although Swinney was aware of it.
He further apologised not for the meeting taking place, but for discussing topics other than Israel’s actions in Palestine and the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Robertson added that it had been decided that it “would not be appropriate to accept any invitation for a further meeting” with the Israeli government.
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