The Scottish Conservatives have written to the First Minister demanding that she “comes clean” over her use of her private email address, and publish the emails from this account.
The move comes after an article in the media alleged that the First Minister has been using her private email address for the last four years. In a memo issued in 2015, staff were allegedly informed that the First Minister would be using her personal, SNP email address for “work” and were directed to use this address particularly for urgent weekend queries.
When previously asked about this at Holyrood, the First Minister failed to deny it, and her spokesman stated that she did not use her private email address for ‘substantive government business’.
The rules state that SNP ministers should use government email addresses in order to comply with Freedom of Information legislation.
Donald Cameron, the Scottish Conservative MSP who first raised this with Nicola Sturgeon in September, said:
“The First Minister must come clean over her private email use and publish the emails from this account. It would appear that the First Minister and her team have not been entirely forthcoming and we have not been given the whole truth."
“I have written to the First Minister asking her to answer this simple question, does she use her private email account? The only way to clear this mess up is for her to publish the emails from this account."
“Anything less will be seen by Scots as highly suspicious – what does the First Minister have to hide?”
The Times article can be found here - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/sturgeon-faces-quiz-over-party-email-use-in-past-four-years-2s5x2qfxq
HCUA Comment:
The rules are very clear on this kind of behaviour and there can be no possible excuse for the First Minister failing to stick to them. Immediate and full disclosure of everything sent by Scottish Government staff to the First Minister's SNP email address - and any replies from that account - is essential.
It is also essential that the security audits for the [email protected] account are published - so the Scottish people know whether or not those emails have been properly protected. We all know how often email accounts are hacked and serious data losses occur as a result, and if the SNP has failed to protect sensitive information sent to a non-government account, we all have a right to know.
Trying to hide behind the excuse that "urgent business" is somehow different to "substantive government business" is just not going to wash: as Donald Cameron points out in his letter, if something is so urgent that it has to be seen by the First Minister during the evening or at the weekend, there is every chance that it is not just government business, but important too - and thus not something to be sent to a non-government address.
And one has to ask why this decision was taken in the first place - after all it is a very simple matter to have your official government email at your fingertips day or night. Excuses like personal administrative convenience are very useful when you have something to hide, especially when you try to claim that you are in fact all about transparency............
Was this practice limited to just the First Minister - which would call into question her judgement in particular - or did other SNP Ministers do the same? Perhaps they would all like to prove that they adhered to the rules......
The full text of the letter sent by Donald Cameron MSP is below -
Dear First Minister,
On the 19th September, in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament, I asked you if you used your private or party email address to conduct government business.
In response you replied that, in effect you did not as you deal with most correspondence in paper format. Later that day, your spokesman, speaking on your behalf, clarified that you did not use your private email address to “conduct substantive government business.”
As you know there are rules governing the use of private email addresses to ensure that freedom of information rules are adhered to.
In the Times this morning an article alleges that four years ago in 2015, a memo was issued to 25 civil servants directing them specifically to use your personal email address for ‘urgent’ business.
The memo states “As of immediate effect, FM will no longer be personally monitoring her MSP account. Instead, she will be using a different account for work - [email protected]. However, this is for urgent business only.”
The email goes on to add: “If something urgent arises over an evening or a weekend, email her at the SNP address.”
This memo appears to suggest that you have, for the last four years, been using your private email address, that this is standard practice, and for those urgent matters arising in the evenings and over weekends, it was your only method of communication.
I think the average person would consider that if something is urgent then it is substantive.
I therefore respectfully request that you clarify, at your earliest convenience, your previous statements and those of your spokesman.
Please could you now answer, fully, whether or not you are in the practice of using your personal, SNP email address, to deal with government business?
Furthermore, in the interests of full transparency, will you now publish those private emails?
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely
Donald Cameron