Key emails relating to the Scottish Government’s botched investigation into misconduct allegations against Alex Salmond may have been deleted, Scotland’s top civil servant admitted yesterday.
Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans told MSPs she could not guarantee that some relevant emails had not been automatically wiped from the computer system.
Evans said civil servants’ emails are deleted after 14 months.
She added: “It is not possible technically to tell what had been automatically deleted or to retrieve material which has already been deleted.”
A Holyrood committee is looking into the botched investigation.
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Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Deleting communications that are more than 14 months old when the inquiry is looking into a complaint made 15 months ago is deeply troubling.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Our Corporate Records Management Plan makes it clear to staff that material of importance must be stored to the corporate record which, since 2005, has been our electronic records and document management system.
“Material saved to the corporate record is not subject to automated deletion after 14 months.
“Automated deletion occurs only to items held in Outlook mailboxes which have not been saved to the corporate record.”
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In January, a court ruled that the Scottish Government’s process for investigating the misconduct allegations against Salmond had been “unlawful”.
In a separate criminal investigation, the former SNP first minister has been charged with 14 offences, including two of attempted rape.
Salmond strenuously denies any wrongdoing.
