John Swinney has said Nicola Sturgeon "stands by" her evidence given to the committee investigating the Scottish Government's handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond.
It comes after former Brexit Minister David Davis dropped a bombshell in the House of Commons last night when he revealed he received 'whistleblower' information that said the First Minister knew of the complaints against Salmond in February, not in April like she had stated.
Davis used parliamentary privilege, which protects MPs from civil or criminal liability, to tell the chamber of a dump of of e-mails and texts he had been sent anonymously.
On the radio this morning the Deputy First Minister defended Sturgeon and dismissed some of what Davis told MPs and the wider world last night.
Speaking on Good Morning Scotland, Swinney said: "The First Minister spent over eight hours at the committee giving comprehensive answers to every question that was put to her, and she stands by all of that information.
"I think in relation to some of the material that David Davis was recounting last night, as I understand it from media reports these messages have been considered by the harassment committee, and from media comments, they've been widely reported as being dismissive as essentially irrelevant to the inquiry that's being undertaken.
"We've set up the process of inquiry, I think we should let it take its course and come to the conclusions that we need to, as I've said, we will do in connection with the reports that arise out of these events.
"The First Minister gave an open and candid account of all of the involvement she's had in her recollections of this process and obviously we wait the outcome of different inquiries that are looking at these issues."
David Davis added another twist in the Salmond-Sturgeon affair last night when he claimed to have communications that showed the FM's chief of staff was not just aware of complaints against Salmond but was "interfering" in the process.
He said: “I have it on good authority that there exists from the 6th of February 2018, an exchange of messages between civil servants Judith Mackinnon and Barbara Allison suggesting the First Minister’s chief of staff is interfering in the complaints process against Alex Salmond.
“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?"
A spokesperson for the First Minister said: “As with Mr Salmond’s previous claims and cherry picking of messages, the reality is very different to the picture being presented.
“Every message involving SNP staff has been seen by the committee previously. Their views have been widely reported as dismissive of them.”
On the comment regarding the Chief of Staff, a spokesperson for the First Minister added: “The comment read out by Mr Davis in relation to the Chief of Staff does not relate to Ms A or Ms B and, at that time, she was not aware that there was any connection to the former First Minister. “
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