Nicola Sturgeon was warned about allegations of misconduct against Alex Salmond in November 2017, five months earlier than previously thought, Scotland’s chief civil servant has said. Leslie Evans, permanent secretary to the Scottish government, told a parliamentary inquiry she warned the first minister that Salmond had been calling civil servants in connection with a Sky News investigation into an alleged 2007 incident at Edinburgh airport. Questioned under oath, Evans told the inquiry “a whole range of people” inside the Scottish government had been raising concerns about alleged sexual misconduct involving ministers and former ministers. She said they began surfacing in early November 2017 at the height of the #MeToo movement and the crisis about alleged harassment at Westminster and the Scottish parliament, and soon after John Swinney, the deputy first minister, announced a new zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct. The inquiry is investigating the Scottish government’s handling of a botched internal inquiry that upheld two complaints of alleged misconduct against Salmond in August 2018, and when Sturgeon knew about those allegations against her former mentor. Salmond sued the government over its handling of the allegations in August 2018 after its conclusions were leaked to the media, and won. In January 2019 the government admitted in court that the inquiry was unlawful and had the “appearance of bias” because the official in charge had discussed their cases with two of the complainants before they made formal complaints. It later paid Salmond £512,000 to cover his legal expenses. Salmond has repeatedly denied any criminal misconduct, and in March this year was cleared of 14 charges of sexual misconduct, including one of attempted rape. Salmond was not prosecuted over the alleged incident at Edinburgh airport in 2007, which he also denied.
He accuses former allies in the Scottish National party and Scottish government of conspiring against him, and is due to give evidence to the parliamentary inquiry this autumn. Sturgeon told the Scottish parliament in late 2018 she first learned Salmond was being investigated when he told her during a meeting at her home in April 2018. The government confirmed earlier this month that she actually met one of Salmond’s closest former aides, Geoff Aberdein, in connection with the case in her ministerial office on 29 March 2018. Questioned on Tuesday about the events of late 2017, when the new anti-harassment policy was being drafted, Evans said two people had told her staff were being contacted by Salmond, who had quit as first minister in November 2014. Those officials were “a bit bewildered and unhappy about it”, she told the committee. She told Alex Cole-Hamilton, a Liberal Democrat MSP, that she had raised the issue with Sturgeon. “I said I was concerned, I was concerned mostly because the staff were anxious about it; I was also concerned that it could become a story,” Evans said. “I didn’t know and I was concerned that we would be ready in whatever form that story might blow because the media was very volatile at that point in reporting on everything.” Asked by Cole-Hamilton whether the new sexual harassment policy was “targeted [and] designed to get Alex Salmond”, she vehemently denied that was the case. “No. Absolutely not,” she said. Evans was then asked by Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader, when she was made aware “of the likelihood of concerns or complaints made against the former first minister”. Evans replied: “I was first aware of the issue being raised through a different route, which was Mr Salmond getting in touch with our staff about Edinburgh airport. After that I was made aware of a range of people – I didn’t know who – who were raising concerns.” Evans also revealed the Scottish government had passed on three complaints of alleged misconduct to the police when its internal inquiry ended in August 2018. Until now it was thought only two cases were passed on to detectives; the Scottish government said later two of the complaints related to one member of staff. Evans also confirmed that one of the complainants had been shown the draft sexual harassment code before it became policy, and before she had made an official complaint. Evans said this was normal practice, saying civil servants wanted people to share their “lived experience” and “relevant experience” when policies were being written.