Alex Salmond inquiry says Nicola Sturgeon misled committee

A majority of MSPs on the Alex Salmond committee have said Nicola Sturgeon misled their inquiry, sources have told the BBC.

It is understood MSPs on the committee voted by five to four that Ms Sturgeon gave them an inaccurate account.

The committee's final report is expected to be published next Tuesday.

Ms Sturgeon told Sky News that she stood by all of the evidence she gave to the committee earlier this month.

She added: "What has been clear is that opposition members of this committee made their minds up before I uttered a single word of evidence. Their public comments have made that clear.

"So this very partisan leak tonight before they've actually finalised the report is not that surprising.

"Let's wait and see the final report, but more important the question of whether or not I breached the ministerial code is being considered independently by James Hamilton and I hope and expect he will publish that report soon."

The cross-party committee includes four SNP MSPs, two Conservatives, one Labour, one Liberal Democrat and independent Andy Wightman.

A spokesman for the Scottish Parliament said the committee was still finalising its report, and it would not make any comment until it was published.

Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond - her predecessor as first minister and SNP leader - have both taken part in lengthy evidence sessions in front of the committee in recent weeks.

Mr Salmond claimed to have been the victim of a "malicious scheme" drawn up by figures within the SNP who are close to Ms Sturgeon.

But Ms Sturgeon told the inquiry that any suggestion there had been conspiracy were "absurd", and insisted she had not been out to "get" Mr Salmond.

She told the Scottish Parliament on Thursday that Mr Salmond and his "cronies" In the "old boys' club" had been spinning "conspiracy theories" which opposition politicians had bought into.

It came after Conservative MP David Davis - a longstanding friend of Mr Salmond - used parliamentary privilege in the House of Commons to read out messages that he suggested showed a "concerted effort by senior members of the SNP to encourage complaints" against the former first minister.

The committee has been examining the Scottish government's botched investigation of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond that were made by two female civil servants.

It was set up after a judicial review found that the government investigation had been unlawful and "tainted by apparent bias".

The government had to pay Mr Salmond's legal fees of more than £500,000.

Mr Salmond was later cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault against a total of nine women after a separate criminal trial last year.

Another inquiry headed by Irish lawyer James Hamilton has been specifically investigating whether Ms Sturgeon's involvement in the saga breached the ministerial code, which sets out the standards expected of government ministers.

The code says that any minister who knowingly misleads parliament would be "expected to offer their resignation".

Mr Hamilton is expected to publish his report in the coming days.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: "We cannot set a precedent that a first minister of Scotland can mislead the Scottish Parliament and get away with it.

"We have to trust that the first minister will be truthful. We no longer can."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it would be "incredibly serious" if the committee concluded that the first minister had misled parliament and potentially breached the ministerial code.

He added: "This is about the integrity of our Scottish Parliament and upholding standards in public life."