There are no records of crucial meetings between Nicola Sturgeon and lawyers about the court challenge brought by Alex Salmond, Scottish ministers have claimed. Ms Sturgeon's deputy John Swinney has confirmed to a Holyrood committee that minutes cannot be found of discussions on two key dates. Mr Salmond was awarded more than £500,000 after the government conceded the following January, and was later cleared in a trial over harassment complaints. When Mr Swinney first confirmed on Friday that no minutes could be found for the November meetings, Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said: 'I've acted as counsel for the Scottish Government. Mr Swinney said that although there had been 'extensive engagement between counsel and Scottish Government lawyers' in early January 2019, there were no formal written notes.

Source: Daily Mail March 09, 2021 13:31 UTC