Government launches appeal against Sturgeon investigation information ruling

The Scottish Government is appealing a ruling by the Information Commissioner that it wrongly withheld information that was part of an investigation into whether Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code.

Last November’s ruling related to a long-running request for information from the investigation into whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code in dealings with her predecessor the late Alex Salmond over harassment allegations.

The Government said Information Commissioner David Hamilton “erred in relation to the law” when he reached his decision, which required the Government to disclose some of the written evidence used in the investigation.

It said doing so would amount to “a contempt of court”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has lodged an appeal with the Court of Session challenging the Scottish Information Commissioner’s decision on a freedom of information request for evidence submitted to the Hamilton investigation.

“We consider that the Commissioner erred in relation to the law on whether the information can be withheld because it risks breaching contempt of court orders.

“The Scottish Government cannot release information which would amount to a contempt of court.”

The issue dates back to March 2021, when independent adviser James Hamilton KC cleared the then first minster of breaching the ministerial code.

A freedom of information (FoI) request was then made to the Scottish Government for all written evidence used in the investigation.

The Government had originally insisted that as Mr Hamilton was an independent adviser on the ministerial code he was not subject to freedom of information legislation.

However, the Information Commissioner intervened, ordering the Government to look at the case again.

While ministers challenged this decision in the Court of Session, their appeal was refused.

In the wake of this, some information was supplied in January 2024 but the Government withheld further details, citing various exemptions under FoI laws.

The Information Commissioner then found the Scottish Government had failed to accurately interpret the scope of the request for information.

Mr Hamilton criticised the Government over its handling of the case, saying it was only through the “diligence” of his staff that “failures” were uncovered – branding this “particularly disappointing”.

He also criticised the Government for “failing to disclose some information which fell within the scope of the applicant’s request and which it did not specifically identify as being exempt from disclosure”.

Mr Hamilton added the Government had been “wrongly withholding some information under the exemptions”.

In his ruling, he also stressed he was “acutely aware of the sensitivity of the subject matter of the request and, consequently, some of the withheld information”.