Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has denied that she had misled a parliamentary committee investigating her handling of sexual harassment claims against her predecessor Alex Salmond, saying that she stood by her evidence.
"The First Minister told the truth to the committee in eight hours of evidence, and stands by that evidence," a spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said in response to reports that said the committee had concluded Ms Sturgeon had misled it.
"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," the spokesman concluded.
It is understood that the Alex Salmond inquiry has concluded that Ms Sturgeon misled Holyrood.
According to Press Association sources, MSPs on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Committee voted 5-4 that Ms Sturgeon gave an "inaccurate" account of a meeting with her predecessor during the live investigation.
This would amount to misleading the Scottish Parliament.
The decision is likely to increase pressure on Ms Sturgeon to stand down before May's election, although it is unclear whether the act was deemed a resignation-worthy offence.
A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said the committee is still considering its report, which is expected to be published in the coming days.
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.
This latest development comes after Conservative MP David Davis used parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons to read out messages that he suggested showed a "concerted effort by senior members of the SNP to encourage complaints" against the former first minister.
According to Mr Davis, the messages disclosed by a whistleblower "demands serious investigation", with one alleging the investigating officer in the case complained of interference by Ms Sturgeon's chief of staff.
The message is alleged to have been sent by Judith Mackinnon to the Government's communications director on 6 February 2018, almost two months before the First Minister claims to have first known about the investigation of her predecessor.
Additional reporting: PA
