An inquiry by the Scottish Parliament’s Business Bureau will now take place into the handling of the Salmond Inquiry. Earlier this week responding to pressure from opposition MSPs the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that she would be referring herself to  Advisers to determine whether or not she had broken the Ministerial Code.

First Minister of Scotland Refers Herself to Independent Advisers on the Ministerial Code

MSPs have now agreed to an investigation into the conduct of the whole process around the investigation.

The Scottish Parliament Building

Jackson Carlaw, Conservative Leader in the Scottish Parliament said:

“An investigation has been botched, two complainants have been let down, and hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been wasted. These are clearly matters for the Scottish parliament to investigate, and the inquiry must be able to examine what went wrong and why this was allowed to happen.”

Richard Leonard, Labour Leader who had called for a public inquiry at First Minister’s Questions said:

“This is the right decision and a positive step forward. Full transparency in this matter is essential in order for the public to have confidence in the First Minister and the Scottish Government. That means full public and parliamentary scrutiny.”

Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie also backed the inquiry.

Reporter: Fiona Grahame