John Swinney told to publish ‘Salmond files’ evidence ahead of deadline

The Scottish Government could face further legal action if it does not this week publish files from an inquiry into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code.

Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton has given ministers until Thursday to release information on Sturgeon’s handling of harassment claims against Alex Salmond or have the matter referred to the Court of Session.

The former first minister was cleared of breaching the ethics code in 2021 over the botched investigation into her predecessor, who died in 2024.

Following a freedom of information (FOI) request from a member of the public, the government was told in November to release the files, with Hamilton criticising ministers for “wrongly withholding” some information.

The government had been due to hand over the information ahead of a 15 January deadline, but failed to do so.

It has lodged an appeal at the Court of Session, saying Hamilton “erred in relation to the law” when he reached his decision, which required the disclosure by SNP ministers of some of the written evidence used in the investigation. It said doing so would amount to “a contempt of court”

Hamilton has said he will “not hesitate to refer the matter to the Court of Session” if ministers fail to comply by Thursday – a week on from the original deadline.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “Scots are sick of seeing their money wasted to protect SNP secrets.

 “Once again, John Swinney has authorised taxpayers’ cash to be used to block the release of documents linked to the Salmond investigation, despite repeated warnings from the Scottish Information Commissioner.

 “This is not about one case. It is about a culture of secrecy and cover-up at the heart of SNP government. Time and again, SNP ministers ignore legal advice, lose in court, and then force taxpayers to pick up the bill.”

A government spokesperson said: “The Scottish government will comply with the commissioner's decision, but we are also required to give consideration to the need to avoid inadvertent jigsaw identification in order to comply with court orders. We are working to complete this work as soon as possible.”

Sturgeon was cleared by an independent adviser on the ministerial code in 2021 who had been investigating whether the then first minister misled parliament about the government’s investigation into harassment complaints against her predecessor.

In 2019, Salmond had won his legal case against the government when a court found the investigation into the complaints about him had been “unlawful, unfair and tainted by apparent bias”.