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Scottish independence: Labour call on inquiry into EU advice row Scottish independence: Labour call on inquiry into EU advice row
(35 minutes later)
The leader of the Scottish Labour Party has called for a judicial inquiry into First Minister Alex Salmond's handling of the EU legal advice row.The leader of the Scottish Labour Party has called for a judicial inquiry into First Minister Alex Salmond's handling of the EU legal advice row.
In a debate at Holyrood, Johann Lamont said the Scottish government had lost the trust of the electorate.In a debate at Holyrood, Johann Lamont said the Scottish government had lost the trust of the electorate.
The row centred on whether the Scottish government had or had not sought legal advice on the EU status of an independent Scotland.The row centred on whether the Scottish government had or had not sought legal advice on the EU status of an independent Scotland.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Labour's motion was "desperate".Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Labour's motion was "desperate".
She told Ms Lamont that she had failed to establish a proper argument on the issue at First Minister's Questions last week and she was failing again in her Holyrood debate.She told Ms Lamont that she had failed to establish a proper argument on the issue at First Minister's Questions last week and she was failing again in her Holyrood debate.
Ms Sturgeon said that Labour's motion did not address "our place in the world" as an independent nation.
She added: "It fails to address the very real risk to Scotland a no vote would present, it fails to even mention the virtual and depressing certainty that Trident and its successor will be based on the Clyde for another 50 years if Scotland does not become independent."
The Scottish government spent about £12,000 on a court battle to prevent having to reveal whether it had or had not commissioned advice on Scotland's future EU membership.The Scottish government spent about £12,000 on a court battle to prevent having to reveal whether it had or had not commissioned advice on Scotland's future EU membership.
Ministers abandoned the case last week when Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that it did not have advice but was now asking the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to give that advice. Ministers abandoned the case last week when Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament that it did not have advice but was now asking the Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland, to give that advice.
Both Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon said that ahead of the Edinburgh Agreement, paving the way for the 2014 independence referendum, they could not discuss the legal advice because they would be in breach of the ministerial code. Both Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon said that ahead of the Edinburgh Agreement, paving the way for the 2014 independence referendum, they could not discuss legal advice because they would be in breach of the ministerial code.
Labour had claimed Mr Salmond was a "bare faced liar", saying he told the BBC in March that he did have legal advice.Labour had claimed Mr Salmond was a "bare faced liar", saying he told the BBC in March that he did have legal advice.
The first minister insisted he never said that he had legal advice and the transcript of the interview proves this.The first minister insisted he never said that he had legal advice and the transcript of the interview proves this.
The SNP have long argued the court case was about defending the code of conduct for ministers which prevents disclosure of legal advice, including whether that advice even exists. The SNP had long argued the court case was about defending the code of conduct for ministers which prevents disclosure of legal advice, including whether that advice even exists.
Ahead of the debate, Scottish Labour business manager Paul Martin claimed the row had been "an obscene waste" of public cash and said it should be paid back. Last week Mr Salmond referred himself to independent investigators to look into whether he had breached the ministerial code.
He said: "This was an obscene waste of money which only heightens the farce that the SNP has created over Scotland's future in the EU. Ms Lamont has now deepened the row by demanding a wider investigation into the first minister's conduct.
"If this had really been a point of principle as Alex Salmond claimed, then they would have continued with the case. The reality is this was a delaying tactic as they tried to hide their dishonesty." 'Bluff and bluster'
Nuclear weapons She told the chamber: "This isn't about his future, it is about the future of Scotland, and Scotland deserves better.
Mr Martin added: "We believe that Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon should pay this money back as a gesture of goodwill to the Scottish people they have deceived at our expense." "That is why today I am calling for a judicial inquiry into the first minister's handling of this affair from the beginning.
Responding on behalf of the SNP, Kenneth Gibson, convener of the finance committee, said Labour should look to their own record in government and the money they spent defending the ministerial code of conduct. "An inquiry into the basis on which the first minister did ever assert Scotland would automatically be a member of the EU.
He said: "Just when you think that the Labour Party in Scotland has reached rock bottom, they sink yet even further into hypocrisy.
"Where the Labour-led Scottish Executive took five FOI-related cases to court in two years, this administration has taken just two cases in five years." "What made him say that this separate Scotland would not have to adopt the euro? An inquiry into why he said he'd sought advice from law officers when he had not.
And he attacked Labour for being a party "not to be trusted" with public cash. "No amount of bluff and bluster will stop us seeking the truth."
Mr Gibson added: "Labour are also at one with the Tories in wanting to waste up to £100bn of taxpayers' money on a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons to be dumped in Scotland." It was also revealed to the parliament that the Lord Advocate would not accept the invitation of Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson to appear before MSPs to explain what his role had been.
During the debate, Ms Davidson said the "people of Scotland needed the truth".
She added: "Scotland deserves to have a government they can trust and I'm not sure that Alex Salmond's referral on the ministerial code will restore any of the trust that's just been lost."
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said that the first minister and the deputy first minister could not both be right.
He added: "Their complicated explanations have assured and reassured no-one, the public know they have been caught out and they need to come clean."
Before the debate began, the Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick warned members about conducting themselves correctly and to be careful about the kind of language they used.