Alistair Carmichael may have breached ethics code with anti-Sturgeon leak
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Version 0 of 1. The former Scottish secretary, Alistair Carmichael, is being investigated by parliament’s ethics watchdog after admitting he approved the leaking of an official Whitehall memo intended to damage Nicola Sturgeon. Kathryn Hudson, the parliamentary standards commissioner, has launched an inquiry into Carmichael, the only Liberal Democrat MP left in Scotland, after receiving a number of complaints. She will look into whether the Orkney and Shetland MP broke the Commons code of conduct in three separate areas: the requirement of MPs to “base their conduct on a consideration of the public interest”; ensure that “information which members receive in confidence in the course of their parliamentary duties should be used only in connection with those duties”; and not to “undertake any action which would cause significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons as a whole, or of its members generally”. Carmichael admitted in the course of an inquiry last month that he allowed his special adviser, Euan Roddin, to release a record of a private conversation in which the SNP leader allegedly told a French diplomat she wanted David Cameron to remain prime minister. Both Sturgeon and the French diplomat say the memo was not accurate. Pete Wishart, a leading SNP MP, said the announcement of an investigation by the commissioner “underlines the seriousness of the allegations”. “We welcome this development and await the outcome of investigation,” he said. “The people of Orkney and Shetland need an MP who is fully focused on representing them and the needs of the constituency.” Carmichael has also been facing calls from SNP supporters to stand down as MP over claims he misled the electorate by denying he had been involved in the leak before the election. A crowdfunding campaign is raising money to fund a legal challenge to Carmichael’s election. The day after the leak, Carmichael told Channel 4 News: “I’ve told you the first I became aware of this, and this is already on the public record, was when I received a phone call on Friday afternoon from a journalist making me aware of it.” A Lib Dem spokesman said: “Alistair has always been clear that he would cooperate with any investigation that was undertaken. That remains the case. He will cooperate in full with the standards commissioner’s investigation.” Police Scotland are also looking into whether any crime was committed in the leaking of the memo. |