Nicola Sturgeon could face a crunch Holyrood vote over claims she “misled” MSPs on the Alex Salmond Inquiry.
The Scottish Tories have threatened to table a motion unless her husband Peter Murrell gives evidence to the committee again.
Party leader Douglas Ross said: “The SNP cannot dodge scrutiny forever. Either the SNP chief executive faces the inquiry or the SNP leader apologises for misleading Parliament.”
A Holyrood committee is investigating how the SNP Government mishandled sexual misconduct complaints against Salmond when he was First Minister.
The former SNP leader took the Government to court and it was accepted the internal probe had been unlawful.
The fiasco ended the long-standing friendship between Nicola Sturgeon and Salmond, whose allies believe he was the victim of a plot.
The inquiry has focused on the Government, but senior figures like Murrell, who is the SNP chief executive, have been part of the probe.
In an earlier oral evidence session, Murrell was asked about meetings between Salmond and Sturgeon during the Government investigation.
He was also quizzed asked about a WhatsApp group apparently convened after Salmond won the judicial review, and whether he has used the messaging platform.
Murrell’s answers were criticised by some members of the Committee, but he declined to give evidence again today.
This was in spite of Sturgeon saying in 2019 that her Government and party would “co-operate fully”.
The Tories have given Sturgeon an ultimatum by saying they will table a potentially damaging motion if her husband refuses to appear.
Ross said: “Nicola Sturgeon promised that her party would “co-operate fully” with the inquiry.
“If the SNP chief executive won’t even show up, that promise has clearly been broken and she has misled the Scottish Parliament.
“Nicola Sturgeon can change this. It’s her party. The chief executive works for her. She should demand he at least shows up.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted.
