The information commissioner for Scotland has said that ministers can no longer be trusted to handle sensitive info without supervision after making numerous excuses that have been ‘preposterous and unacceptable’
Scotland’s information commissioner has said he can “no longer trust” the Scottish Government to handle information relating to investigations probing the ethics of former senior ministers.
Commissioner David Hamilton said that, following a letter from Scottish Government permanent secretary Joe Griffin, it had become clear that ministers had failed to release legal advice the government had received in complying with a decision he had made in 2024. It relates to an independent investigation into then first minister Nicola Sturgeon which cleared her of misleading parliament during a Holyrood inquiry into the handling of harassment claims against her predecessor Alex Salmond.
Following a freedom of information request from a member of the public, Hamilton ordered the government to hand over information relating to the investigation into Sturgeon. After missing a series of deadlines and being threatened with legal action by the commissioner, the government finally published a large tranche of documents last month.
But Hamilton said he had sought further reassurances that the government had complied with an order to release legal advice relating to a previous appeal.
After receiving a response from the permanent secretary, the commissioner said the government had failed to comply and that he was considering legal action.
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In a statement, he said: “Perhaps worse than the fact that Scottish ministers have once again failed to comply with one of my decisions, is that they appear to have tried to conceal this breach of trust with unjustified delays and a wall of silence. The excuses I have now been given, both in writing and in person, are preposterous and unacceptable. I have now met with the permanent secretary and have expressed my dismay. I can no longer trust the government to handle this information unsupervised and will explore more intrusive options to ensure compliance.”
The commissioner said the government’s handling of the original freedom of information request stood in “stark contrast” to the way it handled other cases.
The files released last month showed Sturgeon had accused her predecessor of going on a “revenge mission” after the government botched an investigation into the harassment complaints against him.
Salmond successfully sued the government in 2019 for its mishandling of the allegations against him. The following year he was cleared of sexually assaulting nine women following a criminal trial.
Following the investigation into Sturgeon by James Hamilton, an Irish lawyer, a freedom of information request was made to the government asking for all written evidence.
The government initially argued that, as Hamilton was an independent adviser, he was not subject to freedom of information laws. However, the information commissioner later intervened, ordering the government to publish the information.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The permanent secretary met the Scottish information commissioner on 11 March and assured him that these cases were being handled properly, in line with statutory duties and with the highest standards of impartiality and integrity.”
A version of this story originally appeared on PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood
