“Beware the fury of a patient man.” Former First Minister Alex Salmond offers to take SNP Scottish Government to court for second time to force Nicola Sturgeon to reveal the secret documents she wants kept hidden, Sturgeon’s pledge telling parliament that the enquiry could have whatever material it wanted is increasingly looking like a TV stunt, how did Scotland get stuck with a woman completely lacking in honour and integrity?

Dear All

You are no doubt familiar with the maxim, ‘to the winner goes the spoils’, in case the case of Alex Salmond who won his criminal court case convincingly, the Holyrood enquiry into what is termed by others as his ‘stitch up’ by the SNP goes on. In this enquiry, the losers, Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP are determined to hold to the spoils. In this case, the ‘spoils’ are evidence. What was clear post verdict in the Salmond criminal case was the campaign to discredit the former SNP leader by the Alphabet women and proxies. Even if you aren’t a fan of the Nats, you couldn’t fail to notice that ‘something smelled’. The civil hearing had collapsed; the criminal trial hadn’t gone the way that Team Sturgeon wanted. All that was left was a rearguard action to stop the truth coming out and keep Salmond allies such as Joanna Cherry out of power and effectively unable to challenge Sturgeon for the leadership.

In the last few days, the disgrace that is SNP Minister John Swinney has effectively said that it would be “inappropriate” for the Scottish Government to hand over key documents to the Holyrood enquiry into the handling of harassment claims against Alex Salmond. Since when is hearing the truth ever been “inappropriate”? The truth might be damaging, the truth might be brutal, the truth might be embarrassing but it remains what it has always been an official record kept by the State. John Swinney’s ends his career in disgrace, too weak to do the right, and basically with his attitude, a disgrace to public office. Swinney hasn’t even got the dignity to distance himself from this sham and this inept nasty vile SNP Government.

If anyone thought in a post Salmond verdict world that the wounds between Salmond and Sturgeon would be healed, think again. Team Sturgeon is connected with the alphabet at the hip. Salmond being cleared was a monster bombshell for Sturgeon personally and her inner circle.  How easy life would have been if Salmond was found guilty was simply carted off to prison as a sex offender. I can understand where Salmond is coming from in relation to his treatment; to have others use the processes of the organisation they control to act in such an unfair manner is disgusting. It is disgusting because effectively they put themselves above the law and they know while in power, they are untouchable while they move in the shadows.

What is needed in the Salmond enquiry is court intervention against anyone who refuses to supply this enquiry with evidence. Alex Salmond is now accusing SNP ministers of needlessly withholding evidence from a Holyrood enquiry into the legal case he brought against the Scottish Government. It is hard to believe how quickly his former “friends” who own their positions to him could turn so quickly on him. You may ask the question why, I am sure that Salmond has already done so. You see, it boils down to how the SNP operates and is controlled, Salmond rode the cult of personality while SNP leader which suited him, what he didn’t expect post leadership was just how that worked when he was out.

In the “war” being fought Salmond is taking the high ground, so much so that the former First Minister has offered to work with the enquiry to extract documents currently being withheld by the Government. The icing on the cake is that he has offered to launch a fresh legal action against it. Given Salmond’s court room track record, the Team Sturgeon wouldn’t be up for that because once the first two attempts to get him fought on their ground collapsed, the prospect of fighting on his ground isn’t something to relish. In a letter from Salmond’s lawyers, they said they wanted to share whatever court documents they can with MSPs. So, either there is evidence or there is not, no evidence tends to feed the narrative that some say was a conspiracy against Salmond. It is also interesting that Salmond’s legal team make the point about their willingness to cooperate in contrast with the Government’s reluctance to do so. What is in the documents is an interest, what isn’t in the documents is also an interest, either way; the documents in the right hands prompt questions. Another point which cannot be understated is Salmond’s lawyers offered to supply the enquiry with lists of relevant documents about Mr Salmond's judicial review so it can then ask the Government for each one, calling it the "quickest and cheapest route".

Before anyone starts to ponder the merits of any legal action, it should be noted that Salmond's side says it is also willing to go back to Court to force the Government to disclose files, provided the enquiry met all the costs.

Provided the enquiry meets all the costs, can an enquiry bankroll a court case?

One thing which could form part of the any future case is Nicola Sturgeon telling parliament that the enquiry could have whatever material it wanted. Of course as people are aware Sturgeon making statements in front of TV cameras which turn out to be false isn’t new. Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t have integrity, she is like a cheap actor in a badly made drama where she is the ‘star’, but she is in reality a bit player. Her power comes from holding positions such as FM and leader of the SNP, but she is no leader of men.

Salmond's lawyer, David McKie of law firm Levy & McRae, told the enquiry:

“We note that the Scottish Government continues to delay and to provide partial and incomplete evidence. That pattern is familiar to us from the Judicial Review proceedings. Reliance is being placed by the Scottish Government on the various legal impediments to document provision. We acknowledge those, and are similarly restricted. By contrast with the Scottish Government position, however, we are prepared to seek a way through that impasse.”

If anyone thinks that Sturgeon will take the line of less resistance then think again, the truth into what happened in the Scottish government investigation into Salmond will have to be dug out the hard way.

Mackie added:

“The second option, which we are willing to undertake on behalf of the committee, would be for Mr Salmond to return to court to seek the express consent of the court to have those documents passed to the committee. That, however, will involve the drafting of a petition and a court appearance by Counsel. Those costs are not costs which it would be fair to ask our client to meet, simply to provide documents for which a Committee of the Scottish Parliament has asked and which the Scottish Government delays, or refuses, to provide. We also don’t know whether that hearing would be contested by the Scottish Government, adding to the costs. As a result, whilst we are more than content to make that application on behalf of the Committee, we would require clarification that all legal costs would be met by the Committee.”
He further added:

“We would reinforce that we do not understand why an offer to produce these documents has not been offered in full by the Scottish Government, whose documents they are. They are in a different position from our client in that the documents belong to, and originated from, the Scottish Government.”

Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, a member of the enquiry, said:

“This explosive letter reveals the extent of the Scottish Government’s failure to be fully transparent with the committee and the public. The invoking of legal privilege by powerful figures has become a regular fixture in this investigation and too many vital documents have been withheld from committee members. We simply cannot have the endemic culture of secrecy that permeates the Scottish Government and civil service inhibiting the progress of this committee any further. It is time for those who hold vital information to come clean with the committee so that we can get to the bottom of this affair together. The continued evasion is undignified, undemocratic and simply unacceptable. The secrecy must end: The truth must out.”

Conservative committee member Murdo Fraser added:

“We are approaching the last straw in the SNP Government’s repeated attempts to withhold information. Alex Salmond has now joined the chorus demanding that the SNP give up the documents they don’t want us to see. The Scottish public will not tolerate a whitewash. If the SNP continue to act like the enquiry is beneath them, we will never get answers about how half a million pounds was wasted. We have heard from Leslie Evans that she was aware of rumours about Alex Salmond’s alleged behaviour. Now Nicola Sturgeon needs to break her silence about what she knew and when.”

Finally, whatever way this enquiry goes, people like Sturgeon and Swinney are tainted. Alex Salmond post enquiry will certainly continue with his ‘War on Sturgeon’ that’s a given. Does Salmond join with Yes rebels on SNP version 2, at this stage, I would say no. They are untried, untested and unhelpful to him at this point in time of his crusade. Salmond is 65 years old, he isn’t a young man anymore and fighting a war is an ‘all or nothing’ gig. Can he bring down Sturgeon, if he can, he can’t stop there, there are others who need removed from public office. But to do the job effectively, to do the job right, he needs to control the levers of power, and the only position that affords that is First Minister of Scotland. One thing which should occupy the mind of SNP leader Nicola Surgeon about Salmond is;

“Beware the fury of a patient man.”

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University