Nicola Sturgeon latest: SNP criticises ‘attempt to smear’ first minister

Responding to the report of the Holyrood committee investigating the Scottish government’s botched handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond, Scotland’s deputy first minister John Swinney vowed to “ensure this does not happen again” and “create a culture where these behaviours do not arise”.

He said: “The Scottish government has acknowledged that it made mistakes and that these led to the judicial review being conceded, and I know that this had a real, and damaging, impact for the women who raised the complaints. We have apologised for this and we do so unreservedly again today.

“I remain absolutely determined that the Scottish government should ensure this does not happen again and that together we create a culture where these behaviours do not arise.”

A bulb grower in Lincolnshire has said fewer daffodils are being harvested in the UK because of a shortage of workers caused in part by Brexit.

Eleanor Sly has more details:

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford came up against the Conservative Party’s Steve Brine on the BBC’s Politics Live programme today.

Asked why his sister party was “bothering” to go ahead with a vote of no confidence that was “almost certain” to see Nicola Sturgeon come out on top, Mr Brine repeated the words of James Hamilton QC’s independent report, which states: “It is for the Scottish parliament to decide if it was misled”.

Mr Hamilton gave this view in his findings, which were published on Tuesday morning and aimed specifically at assessing whether or not the FM had breached the Ministerial Code over her role in the botched investigation of Alex Salmond.

Mr Blackford said the same report had found “unequivocally” that Ms Sturgeon did not breach the Ministerial Code, adding it was time for the Tories to “stop playing political games” and think, instead, about the “woman who have been failed” and what the Scottish government can do moving forward to ensure this does not happen again.

The Scottish Conservative’s leader, Douglas Ross, has spearheaded the campaign against Ms Sturgeon, tabling the vote of no confidence before either of the two reports into the saga had been published.

Mr Brine retorted by saying: “This is about so much more than party political games. At the end of the day, the Scottish Conservatives are perfectly entitled to table this motion and members can make their vote clear.”

He added that it would be the Scottish Greens’ “own funeral” should they back Ms Sturgeon, as they have suggested they will.

The vote of no confidence is expected to take place at Holyrood on Tuesday, just after 7.30pm.

The women who made complaints of harassment against Alex Salmond have said they felt they were “dropped” by the Scottish government after they conceded the judicial review.

Ms A and Ms B, as they are referred to in the report, appeared before the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, which produced its final report earlier today.

The women, who on Sunday announced they would make a formal complaint after a leak of portions of their evidence to a newspaper, said they believed the initial handling of the complaints had been “damaging” to the possibility of other women coming forward.

Quoted in the committee’s report, one of the complainers said: “I was quite taken aback by the lack of contact and support from the Scottish government after the conclusion of its process. We were given regular updates over the period of the judicial review, but after that we were basically just dropped.

“There might be good reasons for that, but I certainly expected something, given that the government initiated the police referral and given the duty of care for us as staff members or former staff members, which the government had placed a lot of emphasis on during the process.”

She added: “I was quite taken aback because it felt as though we were just left to swim.”

The Scottish Sun’s political editor Chris Musson tweeted the following after the report went live:

Over in Westminster: Lord Alderdice, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town and Lord McFall of Alcluith are the three confirmed candidates to be the next Lord Speaker.

Each candidate has today published a 500-word manifesto and a short video to make their case to members of the House of Lords before the voting takes place online between 13-15 April 2021.

The job of the Lord Speaker is to chair daily business in the House of Lords chamber and act as an ambassador for the work of the House.

In his manifesto, Lord Alderdice said: “Changes in the culture and operation of the House to ensure it is an effective workplace where all feel comfortable, must be accompanied by a wider programme of engagement with our fellow citizens and the devolved institutions, so that the remarkable work of the House is better understood and appreciated by our fellow citizens.” 

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town said: “Colleagues know my values, and my commitment to “Two Houses; One Parliament”, ensuring our future is adaptable, strengthened and championed, and my aim to be an ambassador for the House and indeed Parliament. We can never take our democratic traditions for granted.”

Meanwhile, Lord McFall of Alcluith said: “Our House must remain on the path of reform and modernisation, respecting the Burns Report, engaging all members – listening and acting.  I am dedicated to protecting the crucial and fundamental constitutional role of the House of Lords that ensures our work has impact.” 

Subject to the approval of the Queen, the new Lord Speaker is due to be announced on 21 April. The current speaker, Lord Fowler, will step down at the end of April, with his successor expected to take office on 1 May.

Support for Nicola Sturgeon is pouring in on social media.

Hundreds of messages, followed by the hashtag #IStandWithNicola, have appeared on Twitter, with various users claiming the committee’s findings did not warrant Ms Sturgeon’s need to resign.

One of those people was Scotland’s justice minister, Humza Yousaf, who said: “Reminder Tories demanded FM’s resignation before hearing a word of her 8-hour evidence session at Committee & lodged a Vote of No Confidence before Hamilton Report.”

Elsewhere, a user wrote: “Nicola has true leadership qualities. Not afraid to speak to the media on her doorstep, no visible security, and a caring focus. She has work to do on the pandemic and won’t be drawn away from it. #IStandWithNicola”.

Another simply admired the FM’s “unbelievable strength”.

Various SNP members have rallied around their party’s leader in the wake of the Committee on the Scottish Government’s Handling of Harassment Complaints’ report, which ruled the FM had “misled” their investigation into the botched handling of sexual harassment claims against Alex Salmond.

It came less than 24 hours after a separate independent report, by James Hamilton QC, found Ms Sturgeon had not breached the Ministerial Code.

Speaking to BBC News on Tuesday, the SNP’s Alyn Smith said: “There has been a partisan attempt to smear Nicola Sturgeon throughout this entire process.

“The committee itself found it was James Hamilton who was best placed to find if she had breached the Ministerial Code, and he very clearly ruled there had been no breach.”

Admitting there had been failings on the Scottish government’s part, Mr Smith said the Holyrood committee’s report made for “uncomfortable reading”.

Asked why nobody had yet “carried the can” for the failings into the original investigation of Mr Salmond, Mr Smith replied: “We have taken this really seriously as is proven by the Scottish government establishing this committee to investigate it … which sadly led to bad politics in which one of the MSPs on that committee leaked details of its report to the media.”

He added: “We have a report now which allows us to focus on the details, and review what needs to be changed moving forward.”

Boris Johnson began Cabinet on Tuesday by reflecting on what he said had been a “very dark and difficult year for our country”.

Mr Johnson said we mourn all those we have lost and send our deepest sympathies to their families, friends and loved ones, according to today’s “Cabinet readout”.

The PM also said the last year had also shown the great strengths of the British public, which had demonstrated such resilience and fortitude and had shown such willingness to work together for a common good.

The Cabinet paid tribute to the extraordinary service of everyone in the NHS, social care and in the public sector over the past year, along with all those who had kept the country going – from bus drivers to shop workers. Mr Johnson is said to have given a special mention to British scientists, whose response to the pandemic had been “incredible”.

He said that, if asked last March, he would not have believed it would have been possible to have developed a vaccine and delivered it to half of the UK adult population within 12 months.

Mr Johnson attributed the “absolutely astonishing achievement” to both British science and British business.

Catch up on today’s Inside Politics newsletter here:

Voters in Scotland do not want an independence referendum in the next two years, a poll has suggested as the Scottish government published a draft bill laying out the terms of a possible future ballot.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of voters think “coronavirus should be completely eliminated in Scotland” before a referendum is held while just 35 per cent support a vote in the next two years, according to a poll conducted by Hanbury Strategy for think tank Onward.

Support for independence fell by 6 points to 50 per cent during the week Nicola Sturgeon gave evidence to the Scottish parliament on the Alex Salmond affair, according to the poll.

My colleague Liam James has the full report:

The Scottish Tories have confirmed they will press ahead with a vote of no confidence in Nicola Sturgeon after a Holyrood committee found she misled parliament over her part in the botched Alex Salmond investigation.

Tory MSP, and member of the Committee on the Scottish Government’s Handling of Harassment Complaints, Murdo Fraser, said: “As James Hamilton said yesterday, it is for the Scottish Parliament to decide whether they were in fact misled. The committee verdict is in – Nicola Sturgeon misled Parliament and the public.”

As the party announced it would continue on with the vote of no confidence, Mr Fraser added: “If she ploughs on regardless, as she did against the advice of lawyers in the doomed Alex Salmond judicial review case, the First Minister will leave the country scarred by the most bitter divisions.

“It seems clear that Nicola Sturgeon will refuse to abide by the principle of democratic accountability for her Government’s monumental mistakes. It is time for someone to accept responsibility for letting women down, wasting more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money, and the abundance of false and misleading statements from senior Government figures.”

It has been reported that the vote of no confidence is likely to fail as the Scottish Greens have already said they will not support it, securing Ms Sturgeon’s future.

Scottish Labour deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, who also sat on the committee, said permanent secretary Leslie Evans should take responsibility for the failed complaints process that was put in place.

Ms Baillie added: “The Hamilton report may have exonerated the First Minister of breaching the ministerial code, but the catastrophic and myriad failings this committee inquiry have revealed have called into question her judgement.”