SNP branded ‘sleazy and corrupt’ as MPs clash in heated Scottish independence debate
SNP slammed for being 'corrupt and sleazy' by Lamont
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Mr Lamont criticised Nicola Sturgeon’s administration for seeking to “distract voters” from the party’s internal warring with renewed calls for a second vote on Scottish independence. The Scottish Tory blasted the SNP-led government as “corrupt and sleazy” as he argued in favour of a petition calling on Westminster to dismiss calls to reopen the constitutional question. It comes as Ms Sturgeon was found to have not broken the ministerial code following meetings she had with Alex Salmond.
The Conservative MP said: “There is trouble in the SNP’s nest too, another reason to try and distract voters.
“Ripped apart by an internal civil-war like we have never seen before.
“Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, seemingly unable to tell the truth leading the SNP government which is corrupt, sleazy, tired and certainly beyond its use-by date.”
He added: “We need to rebuild Scotland, end the division of the past, stop the constant talk of a second independence referendum.”
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The Scottish Conservatives have called for the Scottish First Minister to step down over the claims Ms Sturgeon misled Holyrood over sexual harassment complaints against the former SNP leader Mr Salmond.
Mr Lamont’s colleagues are expected to bring forward a vote of No Confidence in the First Minister on Wednesday.
This comes as James Hamilton QC, the Scottish Governments independent adviser on the ministerial code, concluded his report on the affair on Monday and found Ms Sturgeon had not broken the code.
The First Minister has faced question over when she knew of the complaints against Mr Salmond, whether during a meeting in her home on April 2, 2018, or during one with Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein in her Holyrood office four days prior.
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Sturgeon reacts to being cleared of breaching ministerial code
Ms Sturgeon said today: “I welcome the conclusions of James Hamilton’s independent investigation, which are comprehensive, evidence-based and unequivocal.
“I sought at every stage in this issue to act with integrity and in the public interest.
“As I have previously made clear, I did not consider that I had broken the code, but these findings are official, definitive and independent adjudication of that.
“Today I want, once again, to remind people that at the heart of this case were women who had the courage to come forward and complain.”
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Despite the findings of the 61-page report, Nicola Sturgeon’s grip on the positions of First Minister and leader of the SNP is far from secure.
Key Scottish political figures had called for the Scottish First Minister to step down if she broke the ministerial code.
Meanwhile, the committee looking into the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints against former first minister Salmond is set to report back tomorrow morning.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up after a successful judicial review by Mr Salmond resulted in the Scottish Government’s investigation being ruled unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”, with a £512,250 payout being awarded to him in 2019.
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