John Swinney will not be investigated over claims he misled parliament with pension comments

John Swinney will not be investigated over claims that he misled the Scottish Parliament with comments about pension reforms.  

The first minister said independent advisers had decided that "no investigation is required".

Opposition parties have been calling on Swinney to "correct the record" and accusing him of "peddling misinformation" over his reaction to the comments made about the scrapping of the triple lock.

Swinney, who alerted the ethics watchdog to the matter, said Scots will "lose our pension" under the new plans Andy Burnham set out at the end of last month.  

Writing to Presiding Officer Kenneth Gibson, the first minister said: “There have been a number of written requests, including correspondence from MSPs, calling for an investigation by the independent advisers on the ministerial code.

“Rather than looking at the whole FMQ [First Minister’s Questions] exchanges, these calls focused on a single sentence where I concluded, ‘We have been taken out of the European Union and we are now going to lose our pensions’.

“In line with normal processes, the independent advisers were made aware of these requests.

“They have now informed me that they have concluded that no investigation is required.”

He added: “I am writing to you to be unambiguously clear that, as I set out, the loss is estimated to be £2,000 in real terms as compared to the triple lock remaining in place.

“I hope this is helpful and I now consider this matter closed.”

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Russell Findlay, had accused Swinney of “scaremongering” with his comments.  

He said last week: “I hope the advisers reach the obvious conclusion that Swinney did mislead pensioners and force him to set the record straight.”

In a letter to Findlay published today, Swinney said: “Further to my letter of October 5, I can advise that my advisers have now considered the matter in full, and concluded that there is nothing to investigate.

“As I have stated, I am satisfied that there has been no breach of the ministerial code, and therefore consider this issue closed.”