Scottish First Minister Rejects Claim Of Mishandling Salmond Sexual Harassment Allegations

Faizan Hashmi Published March 03, 2021 | 04:50 PM

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that she believed she made the right decisions regarding the allegations of sexual harassment against her predecessor, Alex Salmond

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2021) Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that she believed she made the right decisions regarding the allegations of sexual harassment against her predecessor, Alex Salmond.

Former first minister Salmond launched a judicial review in August 2018 to investigate the government's handling of the harassment claims made against him. Sturgeon is now facing scrutiny as to why her government pursued its defense defense in the review despite its own lawyers advising that it was likely to lose.

"I believe I acted properly and appropriately. I made the best judgments I could," Sturgeon told the committee at a session, which was broadcast on the parliament's website.

The first minister denied breaching the ministerial code and said the government made a mistake and she was "deeply regretful" of that.

Sturgeon also added that any suggestions she "acted with malice" or "plotted" against Salmond were "absurd".

Sturgeon, who heads the Scottish National Party, is now facing by calls from Scottish Conservatives to resign. Scotland's Conservative Party leader, Douglass Ross, tweeted on Tuesday that "there is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament and broke the Ministerial Code. She must resign."

According to Ross, Sturgeon cannot provide any evidence that would counter claims of witnesses or refute the fact that her ignoring the legal advice "cost �500,000 [$700,000] of taxpayers' money."