THE information commissioner today branded the Scottish government’s handling of the so-called Salmond files “shambolic.”

David Hamilton spoke out after Judge Poole decided to “invoke powers available to it in relation to contempt of court,” having found the Scottish government was guilty of “contempt of the commissioner.”

The dispute arose after a freedom of information request by Benjamin Harrop for files relating to the Hamilton Inquiry, a probe launched by then first minister Nicola Sturgeon into whether she had breached the ministerial code in relation to the Holyrood inquiry into her predecessor Alex Salmond, an inquiry which a judge later ruled had been “tainted by apparent bias.”

First Minister John Swinney argued the files could not be released over fears it could identify complainers in Mr Salmond’s criminal trial, at which he was cleared, but the information commissioner ordered their release, setting a deadline of January 15. 

The Scottish government finally complied on February 24.

Welcoming the Court of Session ruling, Mr Hamilton told BBC Radio Scotland: “The fact that it took them in total nearly 12 weeks is just absolutely ridiculous and you couldn’t have done this exercise in a more inefficient and impractical way.

“Having seen the information that’s been released — full of duplications, full of inconsistencies, things done in different ways — it was an exercise on how not to release information that is sensitive.

“It’s just absolutely shambolic the way it’s been handled.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said ministers “have to balance their obligations under freedom of information legislation and the need to avoid identification of alleged victims in cases of sexual assault,” adding: “We acknowledge and respect the ruling in this case and will consider it in detail.”