Scotland's First Minster Nicola Sturgeon is coming under pressure from pro-union political parties, who say she should resign after a parliamentary committee said she had misled it.
The Alex Salmond inquiry has reportedly concluded it is "hard to believe" Ms Sturgeon did not know of concerns about the former first minister's behaviour before November 2017, as she claimed.
Its the latest development in a bitter row between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond over her handling of sexual harassment claims brought against him by civil servants.
Mr Salmond was acquitted on all charges by a jury last year, after which he claimed he had been the victim of collusion among the top levels of the SNP, which could have seen him sent to prison.
This sparked a parliamentary inquiry.
Last night the committee voted by five votes to four to declare that Ms Sturgeon had given them an inaccurate account.
Ms Sturgeon has described the news as a "very partisan leak" from the inquiry and said it is "not that surprising" as the committee is understood to have deemed she misled parliament.
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Of more significance is a second inquiry by former Irish DPP James Hamilton, into whether Ms Sturgeon breached the ministerial code by misleading parliament.
Breaches of the code are often - but not always - resignation matters.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the Scottish government's investigation being ruled unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias", with a £512,250 payout being awarded to him for legal fees in 2019.
A spokesman for the First Minister said: "The First Minister told the truth to the committee in eight hours of evidence, and stands by that evidence.
"It is clear from past public statements that opposition members of this committee had prejudged the First Minister at the outset of the inquiry and before hearing a word of her evidence, so this partisan and selective briefing - before the committee has actually published its final report - is hardly surprising.
"The question of the First Minister's adherence to the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton, and we expect to receive and publish his report soon."
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has called for Ms Sturgeon's resignation, and said: "The committee will publish its findings in the coming days and we will wait for that report. However, we are really only waiting for confirmation of what we already know.
"We have detailed that the First Minister misled the Scottish Parliament. Nicola Sturgeon has not told the public the truth about what she knew and when.
"We cannot set a precedent that a First Minister of Scotland can mislead the Scottish Parliament and get away with it.
"We have to trust that the First Minister will be truthful. We no longer can."
The controversy comes just as the Scottish parliament is set to break up ahead of elections in May, which if the SNP emerges once again as the biggest party, it will this use to justify demand for another independence referendum for Scotland.
Additional reporting PA
