The Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, survived a vote of no confidence at Holyrood last night by 65 votes to 57.
The Scottish Greens voted with the government to ensure that the fallout from the Holyrood Harassment inquiry did not go any further for now.
Miles Briggs MSP lodged the motion in light of apparent delays in producing copies of otherwise confidential legal advice to the government for the Harassment inquiry. This is the committee investigating the way that complaints of harassment against former First Minister Alex Salmond were handled.
Mr Swinney defended himself against the move and said that all evidence has now been produced and that there are no minutes of meetings November 2018 between the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the Permanent Secretary, Leslie Evans and lawyers advising the government.
The Harassment Committee is directed to “consider and report on the actions of the First Minister, Scottish Government officials and special advisers in dealing with complaints about Alex Salmond, former First Minister, considered under the Scottish Government’s “Handling of harassment complaints involving current or former ministers” procedure and actions in relation to the Scottish Ministerial Code.”
All advice has been published here along with the advisory that “in normal circumstances, government legal advice is not released. Such is the importance of Ministers being able to receive frank, private advice, it is almost unheard of for such legal advice to be released.”
The Harassment Inquiry last met on Tuesday in private.
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