Sarwar vows to release Sturgeon inquiry files

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he will release files from an inquiry that cleared Nicola Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code if he becomes first minster.

The Scottish Information Commissioner has ruled that the government wrongly withheld information relating to the probe and told ministers they must publish some of the evidence by Thursday, or face legal action.

An independent adviser investigated whether Sturgeon broke the ministerial code in 2021 following a botched government investigation into harassment allegations against her predecessor Alex Salmond.

First Minister John Swinney said the government would comply with this week's deadline.

Ministers missed a deadline to publish evidence last week, leading to criticism from information commissioner David Hamilton.

Sarwar claimed the government had a "dangerous obsession with secrecy and cover-up".

"John Swinney wants to use public money to protect the SNP rather than do what's right by Scotland," the Scottish Labour leader said.

With Scots heading to the polls in May for the Holyrood election, Sarwar is aiming to oust Swinney as first minister.

He told BBC Scotland News: "We will stop the waste of public money, we will release the Salmond files and we will follow the law.

"That's the different kind of government that we can have after May."

The years-long legal wrangling over the documents dates back to March 2021, when the government's independent ethics adviser cleared Sturgeon of breaking the ministerial code.

The adviser considered whether Sturgeon had misled MSPs about when she met Salmond's chief of staff following the harassment allegations. Salmond, who died in October 2024, was cleared of sexual assault charges at a criminal trial.

A member of the public made a freedom of information request to the Scottish government for all written evidence used in the investigation into Sturgeon's conduct.

After ministers refused, the information commissioner intervened and ordered them to reconsider their decision.

The government unsuccessfully challenged that ruling in the Court of Session, leading to a series of complex appeals.

Ministers were ultimately ordered to release some of the evidence by 15 January - a deadline they missed.

Hamilton, who was told the deadline would be missed minutes before it elapsed, said it reflected poorly on ministers and was disrespectful to the public.

The commissioner said he would "not hesitate" to refer the issue to the Court of Session if ministers failed to meet a new deadline of 22 January.

Swinney insisted the government will comply with the freedom of information request.

"But we have got to do that having satisfied ourselves that we are not at risk of breaching existing court orders," he said.

The first minister added: "We are determined to make sure that the public have answers to the questions about which they are interested and we do that at all times."