A VOTE of no confidence is to be put forward by the Scottish Tories, with cross-party support, as Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon is expected to appear at an inquiry looking into the mishandling of harassment complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond.
Ms Sturgeon is facing calls from the Scottish Conservatives to resign, after the government published legal advice surrounding a court challenge by Mr Salmond in 2018, and for outrage caused over her ‘abuse of power’ by using the legal system to censor some of Salmond’s evidence.
Mr Salmond has accused Ms Sturgeon of breaching the ministerial code by not halting her government’s legal challenge and costing the taxpayer more than £600,000 in legal costs.
Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Douglas Ross said his party would be submitting a vote of no confidence in Ms Sturgeon.
He said: “There is no longer any doubt that Nicola Sturgeon lied to the Scottish Parliament and broke the Ministerial Code on numerous counts.
“No first minister can be allowed to mislead the Scottish people and continue in office, especially when they have tried to cover up the truth and abused the power of their office in the process.
The call from Douglas Ross comes after further drama in Holyrood, after the government’s legal advice on the court battle with Alex Salmond was published, showing that ministers were warned that it was a risky fight months before they conceded.
Two senior SNP figures have also claimed that Sturgeon intentionally lied to parliament – disputing the First Minister’s account of a key meeting between her and her predecessor.
One of the witnesses even says Sturgeon offered to intervene in the government’s probe – something she has long rejected.
“The weight of the evidence is overwhelming”said Mr Ross. “Nicola Sturgeon must resign.”
