Prosecutors threatened to raid offices of the Scottish Government to obtain evidence relating to Alex Salmond’s criminal trial.
Documents passed to the Sunday Mail have revealed the “extraordinary” move after ministers were accused of failing to comply with the terms of a search warrant.
A letter from principal procurator fiscal depute sent to the Government on November 21, 2019, demanded an end to the stand-off.
It said “considerable latitude” had already been given to the Government to “comply with the terms of the warrant”.
And it added: “If the Scottish Government’s position is that it would now wish Police Scotland to seize and independently search all material held by Scottish Government potentially covered by the terms of the warrant (extraordinary though that may seem), then I would be grateful if the Scottish Government make clear that is the position.”
The letter suggests Holyrood officials had earlier backed out of an agreement. It added: “If it is now the Scottish Government’s position that it is not required to comply with the warrant then I would be obliged if you could make that clear and the necessary steps can then be taken to ensure compliance.”
Two women made sexual misconduct claims against Salmond in January 2018. But the ex-first minister had the findings of an investigation quashed in court a year later after a judge found the procedure used against him to have been biased and illegal.
He was then charged by police with 14 offences before being cleared of all allegations in the High Court.
It was in relation to this criminal case that a search warrant was issued for Scottish Government files.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “This revelation again demonstrates the lengths to which senior Scottish Government officials went to in order to cover up their very serious failings. This isn’t the first time the SNP Government has withheld information but this is probably the most serious.
“That the procurator fiscal had to threaten police action to receive vital documents is nothing short of shocking.
“The actions and behaviour of senior Scottish Government officials on this matter have been appalling and serious questions must be asked as to why no one has resigned.”
Both Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have given evidence to an MSP committee probing the Scottish Government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations against Salmond.
The First Minister is now facing allegations she broke the ministerial code of conduct on multiple occasions over her handling of the judicial review. Salmond’s legal team have claimed there was a plot against him involving figures including Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell, who is the SNP’s CEO. Last week, we revealed how key evidence destroying the Scottish Government’s case against Salmond in a judicial review was only disclosed after demands were made to examine emails held by permanent secretary Leslie Evans.
Scotland’s most senior lawyer Roddy Dunlop QC told a court he was “personally horrified” as the case crumbled and Lord Advocate James Wolffe ordered a trawl of the civil servant’s files.
Our probe also revealed how the £512,000 legal bill for Sturgeon’s doomed battle with her ex-mentor was allowed to clock up as Dunlop’s advice to abandon the case was ignored.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is untrue to suggest we did not comply with the warrant served on it.
“We undertook a rigorous process to ensure compliance with the warrant and the transfer of all relevant documents to the police. The warrant process included oversight by an independent commissioner, appointed by the court.”
Scottish Conservative spokesman on the Salmond Inquiry, Murdo Fraser said: "This extraordinary letter reveals yet more evidence of an SNP Government engaged in cynical delaying tactics to suppress evidence in the Salmond-Sturgeon scandal.
"No-one is suggesting the Crown should conduct dawn raids on Scottish Government offices to retrieve material. They should not have to.
"However, this letter shows that more than a year after serving a warrant, granted by a court, the Crown was reduced to threatening police intervention against Nicola Sturgeon's administration.
"It lays bare her government's contempt for the legal process and the Crown's questionable kid-gloves approach.
"If a criminal is served with a warrant, they don't get to choose how and when to co-operate."
