Scotland’s top civil servant has denied being at “war” with Alex Salmond over the Government’s bungled sexual misconduct probe into the former First Minister.
Leslie Evans said a text which referred to “war” had not been about any one individual.
It emerged in 2018 that the SNP Government had investigated complaints of sexual misconduct against Salmond when he was First Minister.
He pursued a judicial review and it was agreed the internal investigation had been tainted by apparent bias.
The flawed probe cost the taxpayer over £500,000 and a special Holyrood committee was set up to examine the fiasco.
Key issues under the microscope include the development of the government’s anti-harassment policy, the judicial review, as well as how the complaints were handled.
Salmond has singled out Evans for criticism and called for her to quit, but she has remained in post.
It was widely reported that Evans had sent a text to a colleague after Salmond’s successful judicial review: “We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war.”
Asked about the text at a meeting of the Committee, Evans said: “I think that has been misinterpreted as having some kind of conspiratorial element to it. Can I clearly say that is not the case?”
“I was not referring to any individual when I sent that text. I was referring to a long-term commitment of mine, and indeed of the Scottish Government, as you will see from its policy documents, to ensure that equality lies at the heart of what it does.”
Asked whether she had been at war with Salmond, Evans replied: “No.”
It came in the same session that Evans was asked a general question about any changes in working practices as a result of concerns expressed by staff around Ministerial behaviour.
Evans replied: “No. I’m not aware of those changes. I wouldn’t necessarily be aware of those changes unless I was particularly close to that office. That’s not to say that changes don’t take place, but I am not aware of any specifics.”
