Nats ordered to publish Sturgeon inquiry info

Secretive government is slated by watchdog over ‘withholding’ data

- BY DOUGLAS DICKIE

SECRETIVE SNP ministers have been dealt a huge blow after the information watchdog ordered the government to publish previously withheld information about a probe into Nicola Sturgeon.

Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton concluded the government wrongly withheld information that was part of an investigation into whether the former first minister breached the ministerial code.

In a damning rebuke of the shadowy nature of government business, Mr Hamilton said the executive had incorrectly applied exemptions to some information and also ordered redactions to be removed where civil servants have claimed there was a risk of “breaching court orders”.

He also discovered “significant procedural concerns in the Scottish Government’s handling of this case”.

It was only through the “diligence” of his staff that “failures” were uncovered — branding this “particularly disappointing”.

In a statement, Mr Hamilton said: “This was a very complex case, and that complexity was compounded by the way in which elements of this case were handled by the Scottish Government.