Alex Salmond inquiry: This is what time the former First Minister is set to speak today - and how you can watch

Alex Salmond is due to appear before the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s botched investigation of sexual harassment claims made against him.

Scotland's former First Minister pulled out of a scheduled evidence session on Wednesday after the Scottish Parliament redacted his written submission the day before he was due to appear – but he offered to attend on Friday instead.

Holyrood’s Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints duly agreed to invite Mr Salmond to give evidence in person on Friday – an offer the former SNP leader accepted.

What time will Mr Salmond appear before the Holyrood inquiry?

The former First Minister will be speaking from 12.30pm – and proceedings are expected to take up to four hours.

How can I watch it?

There will be a live stream of the speech that can be watched on The Scotsman.

Live updates can also be found on our dedicated live blog.

Former First Minister Alex Salmond.

You can also watch the inquiry on the Scottish Parliament’s TV service: scottishparliament.tv.

- What is the purpose of his appearance?

Mr Salmond is expected to give evidence on the botched investigation and face questions about his allegations that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has misled Parliament and breached the ministerial code.

In his written submission, he named people he claims were involved in a “malicious and concerted” attempt to see him removed from public life, and described the Crown Office – the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland – as “simply not fit for purpose”.

Ms Sturgeon has insisted there is “not a shred of evidence” there was a conspiracy against Mr Salmond, and she has denied lying to Parliament. She is scheduled to appear before the committee to give evidence next Wednesday.

– Why was the committee established?

The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was set up to look into the Scottish Government investigation of the allegations against the former First Minister.

MSPs have so far taken evidence from civil servants, including repeated sessions from Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, trade unions and SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – who is First Minister Ms Sturgeon’s husband.

– Why did Mr Salmond take legal action?

The former First Minister did not feel his treatment by the Scottish Government was fair.

It was later found that the lead investigator of the complaints had prior contact with some of the female complainers, with Judge Lord Pentland saying the investigation was “tainted with apparent bias”.

– How has the inquiry gone so far?

The committee has repeatedly voiced frustration with how slow the handing of evidence has been from a number of parties.

The Scottish Government was accused of obstruction last year, with the committee saying it was “completely frustrated” with the lack of evidence.

Both the committee and the Scottish Government were at loggerheads over legal advice provided as part of the judicial review process. MSPs wanted to know when the Scottish Government was advised it would likely lose the challenge raised by Mr Salmond, but ministers said handing over the advice would breach the ministerial code.

On two occasions, MSPs voted for the evidence to be released, with a deal eventually being struck in December to reveal the advice only to MSPs on the committee.

– What were the issues with Mr Salmond’s evidence?

Mr Salmond and the committee have been wrangling in recent weeks over evidence published by the inquiry.

Earlier this month, the former First Minister said he would not appear after the committee decided not to publish his submission to a separate investigation into whether Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code over fears it may identify some of the complainers in Mr Salmond’s criminal trial last year.

However, an alteration made to a court order by Judge Lady Dorrian meant the evidence could potentially be made public.

The evidence, which was released on Monday evening, was online for less than 24 hours before the Crown Office raised concerns with Holyrood about it, asking for redactions to be made.

In his submission, the former First Minister accused some in the Scottish Government and SNP of a “malicious and concerted attempt to damage my reputation and remove me from public life in Scotland”.

Ms Sturgeon said her predecessor did not have “a shred of evidence” to support his claims.

On Tuesday morning, the submission was re-released, with a number of paragraphs relating to the set-up of a meeting between Mr Salmond and his successor redacted.

– Is the committee inquiry the only investigation into the matter?

No. Ms Sturgeon is currently under investigation by James Hamilton QC to establish if she breached the ministerial code.

Ms Sturgeon referred herself after being accused of misleading Parliament over when she knew of the complaints against Mr Salmond.

She previously said she had been told about the allegations by Mr Salmond himself during a meeting in her home on April 2, 2018.

However, it was later found that Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff Geoff Aberdein had met with the First Minister in her Holyrood office four days prior to that, where she was told of the complaints.

– Will Nicola Sturgeon appear before the committee?

The First Minister is expected to appear before the committee next week.

On Thursday, Ms Sturgeon insisted she has no regrets about ensuring complaints against her predecessor were investigated – despite the “difficulties” it has caused.

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