Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon did not break a ministerial code of conduct in her handling of sexual harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond, an independent inquiry has concluded.
The investigation found she did not breach the code in relation to allegations she failed to record meetings with Mr Salmond and others in 2018.
The ruling was made by James Hamilton, an independent senior lawyer who investigated Ms Sturgeon's conduct.
He also examined the allegation that Ms Sturgeon misled parliament in relation to the meetings, again finding there was no breach of the code.
Any breach of the code of conduct would have been expected to have led to calls for her resignation.
"I am of the opinion that the First Minister did not breach the provisions of the Ministerial Code in respect of any of these matters," Mr Hamilton said in his eagerly awaited report.
Mr Hamilton is the former Director of Public Prosecutions in Ireland.
Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the findings this afternoon.
"Mr Hamilton has considered all of the allegations against me, and I am happy that his report's findings clear me of any breach of the ministerial code," she said in a statement.
"I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest. As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that."
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Mr Hamilton's investigation was paused in early 2019 to avoid prejudicing criminal proceedings brought against Mr Salmond.
He was acquitted of 13 charges, including sexual assault, indecent assault and attempted rape, in March 2020 following a High Court trial and Mr Hamilton's inquiry was delayed again by the pandemic, before resuming in August 2020.
