One of Alex Salmond’s accusers has rejected allegations Nicola Sturgeon’s chief of staff intervened in the complaints against the former First Minister.
The unnamed woman said claims by Tory MP David Davis that Liz Lloyd knew of the Government’s Salmond probe in February 2018, or got involved, were “fundamentally untrue”.
A Holyrood committee is investigating the SNP Government’s mis-handling of sexual misconduct complaints against Salmond when he was First Minister.
Salmond took the government to court and it was agreed the internal probe, which destroyed his friendship with Sturgeon, had been unlawful and tainted by apparent bias.
Following a trial last year, he was also acquitted of sexual offences against nine women as FM. Salmond has alleged that senior SNP figures close to Sturgeon plotted against him
A key part of the Holyrood Inquiry has focused on when Sturgeon first became aware of the Government probe.
She said Salmond told her in April 2018, but she admitted forgetting about an earlier meeting with his former aide at which she said more general conduct issues were discussed.
At Westminster on Tuesday, Davis used parliamentary privilege to make claims about Lloyd and Sturgeon.
He said he had it on “good authority” there was an exchange of messages between civil servants from February 2018 suggesting Lloyd interfered.
He said: “The investigating officer complains, I quote, ‘Liz interference v bad’. I assume that means very bad.”
“If true, this suggests the chief of staff had knowledge of the Salmond case in February, not in April, as she has claimed on oath.
“The First Minister also tied herself to that April date in both parliamentary and legal statements. She was, of course, aware earlier than that. The question is just how aware and how much earlier?”
However, one of the women who accused Salmond has hit out at Davis’ comments.
In a statement, she said: “I am aware of comments from David Davis MP, in which he suggests the Chief of Staff to the First Minister, Liz Lloyd, was aware of and “interfered” with complaints against Alex Salmond in February 2018.
“These allegations are fundamentally untrue and are being deliberately misrepresented.”
She said she was approached by Scottish Government HR in January 2018 regarding an investigation into a complaint about Salmond.
She said she had been named in a statement obtained during the course of the probe.
The woman said she did not want to share her own experiences, or obstruct an investigation.
She said: “I decided to raise the matter with a trusted senior person in government, Liz Lloyd, to gain advice and an understanding of my obligations.
“I was extremely conscious of the sensitivity of the investigation and I, therefore, did not tell Liz who the complaint was from, who it was about or the nature of the complaint.”
She added: “I informed her I had been approached by HR in relation to a current investigation. I said I had been asked if I wanted to make a complaint and made it clear to her I did not want to, but I was concerned that if I didn’t I may be impeding an investigation.
“She offered to convey my concerns and what I wanted to happen to an appropriate senior civil servant, who was the most appropriate person to discuss the issue with. I agreed to this course of action. This was not “interfering” but acting in line with my wishes.”
Sturgeon also rejected Davis’ claims: “I strongly refute the suggestions and insinuations from David Davis in the House of Commons last night. I am not going to have this covid briefing sidetracked by the latest instalment of Alex Salmond’s conspiracy theory.”
