A unnamed individual has objected to Government documents being released to Holyrood’s Alex Salmond inquiry.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said resolving the situation would have a bearing on whether the information requested by MSPs could be handed over.
A special Parliament committee is examining how complaints of sexual misconduct against Alex Salmond when he was First Minister were handled by the SNP Government.
Salmond hit out at the internal government probe and a court later ruled the investigation had been biased and unlawful.
The fiasco, which created a rift between Salmond and his successor Nicola Sturgeon, cost the taxpayer over £500,000.
Various issues are under the committee’s microscope, including the development of the harassment complaints policy devised by the Government in 2017, as well as Salmond’s successful judicial review.
In a letter from Swinney to the committee, Sturgeon’s deputy provided an update on the documents relating to how the Government investigated the complaints.
He said: “This has included notifying any named individual whose personal data is included in the documents in advance of submission to the Committee, and notifying them of their legal right to object.
“This notification process has therefore been carried out for the fourth tranche of documents, about the investigation of complaints, which is in its final stages of preparation.”
He added: “A formal objection has been received by the Scottish Government on behalf of an individual in response to our notification. In considering the points made in that objection we are taking further legal advice about the options available to us in order to be able to submit to the Committee the range of documents which we would like to send.”
The letter offers no clues as to the identity of the person who has objected.
Swinney concluded: “The process of resolving this position will have a bearing on when the Scottish Government will be able to submit this tranche of documents to the Committee, and I will update you as soon as I have further information.”
Meanwhile, the committee has called for the government to rethink its decision to withhold some information on the grounds of legal privilege.
The Government has claimed it is unable to provide some documents for legal reasons, but committee convener Linda Fabiani queried the decision.
In a letter to Swinney, she said: “The Committee is of the opinion that these are exceptional circumstances. Central to the Committee’s remit is how the Scottish Government dealt with complaints against the former First Minister and how it approached the judicial review of its handling of those complaints.
"The Committee fails to see how it can conduct effective scrutiny when the Scottish Government is withholding all communications about the judicial review proceedings.”
She added: “Given the Government’s repeated commitments to co-operating with the Committee, and to provide it with the information it requires, a decision to waive privilege in these circumstances would be a necessary step towards fulfilling these commitments.”
