Documents show ministers were advised not to appeal a ruling by the Information Commissioner but they did it anyway.
The Scottish Government lied to information watchdogs and ignored legal advice when they spent £30,000 challenging a court ruling over publishing evidence about a secret report.
It shows top lawyers told ministers the appeal could be reputationally damaging and they didn’t have a high chance of success. “The submissions made by Ministers the full picture…If Ministers were to pursue an appeal without correcting the slightly false impression given by the original submissions, they would mislead the court by silence…”
Despite this the government took the appeal anyway, spending £30,000 to challenge the decision which they lost in a matter of seconds in December 2023. Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie said: “The government have known all along they were on shaky ground but they have attempted to string out the process as long as possible in the hope that anyone who might scrutinise is dispirited and gives up. That’s not public service, it’s sneaky and underhanded.”
Alex Salmond Jackie Baillie Nicola Sturgeon Willie Rennie Scottish Labour Scottish National Party
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