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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Peter Davidson

Nicola Sturgeon to face vote of no confidence in Scottish Parliament

Nicola Sturgeon is set to face a vote of no confidence in the Scottish Parliament later today.

The Scottish Tories said they will press ahead with a vote in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after a Holyrood committee found she misled parliament.

The final report of the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was released earlier today and showed a majority of MSPs on the committee felt Sturgeon had provided an "inaccurate account" of a meeting with her predecessor.

The First Minister said she had not told Alex Salmond she would intervene after complaints of harassment were made against him, but the committee found she "did in fact leave Salmond with the impression that she would, if necessary, intervene" in a meeting in her Glasgow home on April 2 2018.

A debate will get underway on the vote at around 3.20pm and last for around 45 minutes. The vote itself is expected at around 4.05pm.

Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: "As James Hamilton said yesterday, it is for the Scottish Parliament to decide whether they were in fact misled.

"The committee verdict is in - Nicola Sturgeon misled Parliament and the public.

"If she ploughs on regardless, as she did against the advice of lawyers in the doomed Alex Salmond judicial review case, the First Minister will leave the country scarred by the most bitter divisions.

"It seems clear that Nicola Sturgeon will refuse to abide by the principle of democratic accountability for her Government's monumental mistakes.

"The committee report indicates that even if the First Minister won't be held accountable, numerous senior Government officials should consider their position.

"It is time for someone to accept responsibility for letting women down, wasting more than £500,000 of taxpayers' money, and the abundance of false and misleading statements from senior Government figures."

The MSP also said there should be a "judge-led inquiry" established in the next parliamentary session "to uncover all the details".

Despite the Tories pledging to table a motion of no confidence in the First Minister, it is likely to fail, as the Scottish Greens have already said they will not support such a vote, securing Sturgeon's future.

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