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The SNP has been left reeling by a \u201cnightmare before Christmas\u201d after judges rejected an attempt to block the publication of details about whether Nicola Sturgeon broke ministerial code.<\/p>\n
The defeat capped a bad day for the SNP which also saw former leadership candidate Kate Forbes call for the coalition deal with the Greens to be axed.<\/p>\n
The latest paper on Scottish independence was also mauled by critics as a work of \u201cfantasy fiction\u201d and ministers had an emergency meeting to discuss a tax hike on high-earning Scots.<\/p>\n
After the inquiry into the Alex Salmond affair, James Hamilton concluded that Ms Sturgeon had not broken the code \u2013 although a committee of MSPs found that she had inadvertently misled them, our sister paper the Scottish Daily Express reports.<\/p>\n
Hamilton, a lawyer and independent advisor on the code, expressed frustration that his report had been heavily redacted and a member of the public asked for the full version to be released.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> SNP chief has Commons in stitches with Starmer dig as Deputy Speaker intervenes[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n The SNP refused, claiming they did not have the unredacted version. The Scottish Information Commission sided with the member of the public but ministers appealed to the Court of Session.<\/p>\n The court rejected the appeal without even retiring to consider a verdict.<\/p>\n Judge Lord Carloway said: \u201cWe will give reasons for our decision in writing in early course, but in short the court is satisfied the information involved was held by the Scottish ministers in terms of the statute, and we will therefore refuse this appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n The case relates to the handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond by the SNP government and Ms Sturgeon, dating back to 2018.<\/p>\n Their investigation was previously ruled to be \u201ctainted with apparent bias\u201d and Mr Salmond last week launched a new legal action alleging \u201cmalfeasance\u201d by civil servants.<\/p>\n DON’T MISS <\/strong> ![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/5103037.jpg?r=1701902966780\")
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