A legal challenge could see potentially explosive documents relating to the Alex Salmond Inquiry published.
MSPs on the Holyrood committee yesterday voted by 5-4 not to include a damning submission from the former First Minister in its public record, despite the contents having already been widely reported in the media.
As a result, Salmond is unlikely to appear in front of MSPs and is instead expected to stage a press conference.
The Spectator magazine is reportedly seeking a ruling from the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday that would put the legality of publication beyond doubt.
A special Holyrood committee is investigating the Scottish Government’s botched handling of sexual misconduct complaints against the former first minister.
Salmond took the government to court in 2018 and it was accepted the internal probe had been unlawful.
The fiasco ended the friendship between Sturgeon and Salmond, whose allies believe he was targeted by Government and SNP figures.
A key area for the committee inquiry centres on the meetings Salmond and Sturgeon held during the misconduct probe in 2018.
In a submission to Holyrood, described by the Tories as a "bombshell" , Salmond accused his predecessor of misleading parliament and breaching the ministerial code of conduct. Sturgeon denied the claims.
However, the Parliament recently decided against publishing the Salmond submission - despite it being widely reported in the media. The move infuriated Salmond, who described the decision as farcical.
His lawyer responded at the time by saying Salmond “cannot accept a position” where his evidence is “not to be published”.
When the Committee voted on the issue, four SNP MSPs, as well as Independent MSP Andy Wightman, voted against publication. Tory, Labour and Lib Dem MSPs voted in favour of a redacted version being published.
In another vote, SNP MSP Maureen Watt proposed that the Committee agreed that, given the legal constraints, it would not be able to publish any version of the Salmond submission. This was carried by 5 votes to 4.
