A former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats has said he feels let down by the behaviour of Alistair Carmichael, who admitted that he was responsible for a pre-election leak intended to damage Nicola Sturgeon.
In a strongly worded statement, Tavish Scott, whose Holyrood constituency of Shetland overlaps with the Westminster seat of the former Scottish secretary, said Carmichael has a long road to recovery with many people.
Following a Cabinet Office inquiry which concluded last Friday, the Lib Dem MP for Orkney and Shetland admitted he authorised his special adviser to release a memo about a private conversation in which Scotland’s first minister purportedly told a French diplomat she wanted David Cameron to remain the prime minister. Sturgeon and the diplomat have both made clear that the memo was inaccurate.
In his first statement since the admission, Scott said: “I too feel let down. No wonder many people across the islands do too. But Alistair’s handling of this matter is not the Alistair I know.”
However, he said that if Carmichael were to resign, he would be giving in to “mob rule”.
Scott added: “Many are demanding that, but the political motivation of the SNP and the yes campaign is obvious and increasingly personal and unpleasant. I detest mob rule and that is what this now looks like. It is not the Shetland I know.”
He suggested the preferable response was for Carmichael to heed those who elected him. Scott said: “The second option is he listens to his constituents, real Shetland folk who will give him a fair hearing. If he can demonstrate that he can get back to being a determined, effective local MP, people will accept that. Alistair has a long road to recovery with many people. But he should walk that road.”
The executive committee of Shetland Liberal Democrats held a meeting on Tuesday night to discuss Carmichael’s involvement in the leak, and resolved that he retained their full confidence whilst expressing “surprise and disappointment at Alistair’s actions and his lack of judgment”.
Police Scotland confirmed on Wednesday that they were still carrying out inquiries to establish whether any criminality had taken place, following a complaint from a member of the public about Carmichael’s conduct.
Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary standards commissioner, has received a number of complaints about him and is considering whether they fall within her investigative remit.
