Ruth Davidson appeared on LBC and called for SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon to resign if she lied to parliament – and therefore broke ministerial code – about details of the Alex Salmond inquiry. The Scottish Tory explained that Alex Salmond had laid out a “trail of breadcrumbs” for people to investigate the First Minister and that Ms Davidson and others were looking into it. She says that the Scottish government is trying to do things “by the book” but is finding it difficult.
Speaking on LBC, Ruth Davidson said the First Minister would have to resign if found to have breached ministerial code, despite Alex Salmond not explicitly saying she should go.
She said: “I think if half of the things that Alex Salmond said yesterday are true that she will have to go, there’s no question about that.
“He laid a breadcrumb trail that says I am in no doubt she’s broken the ministerial code here.
“But you know what happens now is over to you guys because I’m no longer in the parliament.
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“Knowing fine well because he’s a smart man and he’s across the ministerial code what the sanction for these things are.
“But what’s important is that quite a lot of what he says is disputed by the other side.
“If she can’t provide evidence for these to show that this isn’t true then she will have to resign.”
Presenter Matt Frei then pushed Ms Davidson for clarification on her position on Home Secretary Priti Patel’s case.
He said: “Talking about breaking the code of conduct for ministers, where was your outrage when Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, broke the code of conduct and was not told to resign?”
Ruth Davidson said that the decision to look into Priti Patel should be down to them and refused to say whether she would support Ms Patel’s resignation.
She replied: “I haven’t spent a day in Westminster working there so I’m not across all of them and many handbooks and standing orders and all the rest of it.
“If MPs want to set up an inquiry into the conduct of a minister then that’s entirely for MPs to do.”
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She continued and said when the Scottish government acted unlawfully during the Alex Salmond investigation she did not “call for ministerial heads” but instead set up inquiries herself.
Ms Davidson urged MPs to follow suit if they wished to investigate Priti Patel.
The MSP added that the Scottish parliament could access documents used during Mr Salmond’s criminal trial as evidence in the inquiry if they approved it.
She explained evidence used in a criminal trial cannot be used elsewhere unless parliament allows it.
Ms Davidson will join the House of Lords when her term at Holyrood ends in March.
