Over the past few weeks, the Scottish Parliament has been shaken by the inquiry into the handling of sexual harassment claims. Alex Salmond, the former First Minister, was charged, then acquitted, of 14 charges of sexual assault at the beginning of last year. Nicola Sturgeon, Salmond’s former Deputy and now FM, has been accused of misleading parliament over her knowledge of the allegations.
In 2018, Sturgeon asked parliament to introduce policies concerning sexual harassment in the wake of #MeToo, after which, two complaints against Salmond were made. He believes these policies were introduced as part of a conspiracy against him.
Sturgeon claimed to have no knowledge of the allegations made against Salmond until the 2nd of April 2018. However, she later said she had forgotten a previous meeting where this topic was discussed - on the 29th of March that same year. Salmond expressed that if Sturgeon had forgotten, she should have corrected the record.
A second inquiry asks if Sturgeon broke the ministerial code by attending this meeting, as all of the FM’s meetings must be recorded; this one was not. She could be expected to resign, although her popularity among voters means this could be avoided.
Written by Jess Urquhart
Artwork by Mrishana
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