Scottish Government review finds no data breach in Salmond case

An internal review carried out by the Scottish Government has found no data breach was committed around the sexual harassment allegations made against Alex Salmond.

The former First Minister has said he believed these came from inside the Government.

But in a statement released today, the Government has claimed a “detailed review” found no breach had been made and the “information relating to the case” was processed properly.

The defeat at the Court of Session in Edinburgh is likely to cost taxpayers in the region of £500,000.

The Government today confirmed it had carried out a review into the case and found no breaches.

A Government spokesman said the process for considering the allegations against Mr Salmond was ongoing for eight months and was “kept entirely confidential throughout that period”.

He said: “The Scottish Government has never commented on the content of the allegations against Mr Salmond and we will not do so.

“As a precaution and in line with our legal obligations, we instructed a detailed review into our handling of Mr Salmond’s data in August 2018.

“We are satisfied that information relating to this case has been processed in accordance with our legal and information handling obligations, and that there is no evidence of any data breach.”

He had calling for an investigation into what he described as the leaking of information in what was meant to be a confidential process.

A police inquiry into Mr Salmond remains ongoing despite the court result.