Wikipedia

Timeline of the Alex Salmond scandal

The Alex Salmond scandal refers to the political scandal in Scotland concerning the behaviour of former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and his successor, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.[1] The scandal created a feud within the Scottish National Party and a ministerial code investigation into Sturgeon conducted by James Hamilton, which ultimately concluded that she did not break the ministerial code over her conduct with Salmond.

The following is a timeline of events that happened in the Alex Salmond political scandal.

2017

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  • Late 2017: The Scottish Government receives sexual harassment complaints against Salmond, concerning his behaviour while he was First Minister.[1]

2018

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  • 29 March: Sturgeon meets with Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, in her office at Holyrood.[2][3]
  • 2 April: Salmond meets with Sturgeon at her private residence in Glasgow.[4]
  • 6 June: Sturgeon informs the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary, Leslie Evans, that she knows about the inquiry into harassment complaints and has discussed it with Salmond.[5]
  • 24 August: The Daily Record reports that Salmond had been reported to the police over claims he sexually assaulted two Bute House staff members as First Minister.[6]
  • 29 August: Salmond formally begins his judicial review of the government’s handling of harassment complaints against him. He also resigns his membership from the Scottish National Party amid allegations of sexual misconduct.[7][8]
  • 30 August: The Scottish Parliament establish the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints to investigate the Scottish Government’s handling of the affair.[1]
  • 31 August: Then senior counsel for the government, Roddy Dunlop QC, warns the government that the revelation that a senior official had previously met and briefed the two complainers was “extremely concerning”.[3][1]
  • 6 December: Leslie Evans is warned by Roddy Dunlop QC that Salmond’s legal challenge will “more likely than not succeed”.[3]
  • 31 December: Evans concedes the judicial review.[3]

2019

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  • 8 January: The Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court, declares the inquiry unlawful on procedural grounds and Salmond is awarded £512,000 in legal costs.[9]
  • 13 January: Sturgeon refers herself to the independent ministerial ethics body after opposition parties raise concerns about her meetings with Salmond.[10]
  • 24 January: Police Scotland arrest Salmond, and he was charged with 14 offences, including two counts of attempted rape, nine of sexual assault, two of indecent assault, and one of breach of the peace.[11]

2020

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  • 23 March: Salmond is cleared of all charges. A jury finds him not guilty of 12 charges, one charge was dropped by prosecutors earlier in the trial while one charge was found not proven.[12]
  • 8 December: Sturgeon's husband and Chief Executive of the SNP, Peter Murrell, gives his evidence to the Scottish Parliament's inquiry.[13]

2021

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  • 26 February: Salmond goes before the Scottish Parliament's Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints.[14]
  • 3 March: Sturgeon gives her evidence before the committee. [15]
  • 19 March: A leaked Scottish Parliament committee report on the handling of the government's allegations finds Sturgeon misled parliament.[16] On the same day, Leader Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, calls for her resignation or a motion of no confidence vote will be brought to parliament.[17]
  • 22 March: Sturgeon is cleared of breaching the ministerial code by a report by James Hamilton QC.[18]
  • 23 March: The official report of the Scottish Parliament's inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations is found by a majority of votes that Sturgeon misled parliament.[19] Opposition leader in Holyrood, Ruth Davidson, motions a vote of no confidence against Sturgeon. She survives the vote by 65 to 31 to reject the motion, with the Scottish Greens supporting the SNP and Scottish Labour and Liberal Democrats abstaining.[20]
  • 24 March: Salmond declares his intent to sue the Scottish Government for damages over the actions of Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, saying that she had failed to take responsibility for the mishandling of harassment complaints against him.[21]
  • 26 March: Salmond is announced as the new leader of the Alba Party and announces his intention to seek election at the May election.[22]
  • 6 May: The Scottish people vote at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon secures a third term and Salmond's new party fails to win any seats.[23][24]
  • 23 September: Police Scotland announce that they are investigating the Daily Record's 28 August 2018 report on the allegations against Salmond as a potentially-unlawful leak of information, after investigations by the Scottish Government and the information commissioner failed to establish how the newspaper obtained the information. The investigation is codenamed Operation Newbiggin.[6][25]

2022

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  • 13 January: In reaction to the Alex Salmond scandal, the Scottish Government publishes its new procedure for dealing with harassment and bullying complaints against ministers, implementing a system of external investigators.[26]

2023

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  • 24 November: Salmond launches a new legal case against the Scottish Government, alleging misfeasance by civil servants over the mishandling of the harassment inquiry, suing for damages of up to £3 million.[27][28]
  • 6 December: The Court of Session rejects a bid by the Scottish Government to prevent the publication of all evidence gathered by James Hamilton in his investigation into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code over her conduct with Salmond.[29]

2024

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  • 14 March: Operation Newbiggin concludes with no police action.[25]
  • 18 July: Using parliamentary privilege, Sir David Davis MP names Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon's ex-chief of staff, as the person responsible for leaking the allegations against Salmond to the Daily Record in 2018.[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Salmond and Sturgeon: What is the controversy all about?". BBC News. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Witnesses dispute Nicola Sturgeon account of meetings with Alex Salmond". The National. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Timeline: the major developments so far in the Sturgeon and Salmond affair". the Guardian. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Salmond affair: Government confirms Sturgeon had previously undisclosed meeting". HeraldScotland. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Sturgeon told of Salmond allegations earlier than thought, inquiry told". the Guardian. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Alex Salmond inquiry leaks being investigated by police". BBC News. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Ex-SNP leader Alex Salmond resigns from party". BBC News. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Alex Salmond resigns from SNP after sexual misconduct claims". the Guardian. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Alex Salmond receives £512,000 costs after 'botched investigation'". the Guardian. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon refers herself to ministerial watchdog over contact with Alex Salmond". The Independent. 13 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ^ Grafton-Green, Patrick; Tobin, Olivia (24 January 2019). "Ex-Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond charged with attempted rape". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Alex Salmond cleared of all sexual assault charges". BBC News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Alex Salmond inquiry likely to recall SNP chief exec and Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell". www.scotsman.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Salmond accuses Sturgeon of presiding over 'failures of leadership'". Financial Times. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Recap: Nicola Sturgeon gives crucial evidence to Salmond committee amid quit calls". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  16. ^ "MSPs on Alex Salmond committee say Nicola Sturgeon misled them". BBC News. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Douglas Ross calls for Nicola Sturgeon's resignation". uk.news.yahoo.com. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon cleared of breaching ministerial code". STV News. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon misled Scottish Parliament, says inquiry". POLITICO. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Sturgeon survives Holyrood confidence vote over Salmond row". BBC News. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Alex Salmond to take Scottish government to court again". BBC News. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Alex Salmond launches new independence-focused Alba party". the Guardian. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon wins 'historic' third term for the SNP in Scottish Parliament election". Holyrood Website. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  24. ^ Davidson, Peter (8 May 2021). "Alex Salmond fails to win seat in election as voters reject ex-First Minister". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  25. ^ a b "No police action after Alex Salmond leak investigation". BBC News. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  26. ^ "New external system for complaints against Scottish ministers". BBC News. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Alex Salmond launches legal action against Scottish government". BBC News. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  28. ^ "What is behind Alex Salmond's new legal fight with the Scottish government?". BBC News. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Judge throws out bid to withhold Nicola Sturgeon inquiry evidence". BBC News. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  30. ^ "David Davis names Nicola Sturgeon's aide as Salmond leak source". BBC News. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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