James Hamilton QC investigation remit: FOI release

Information requested

Does the remit of the Investigation being conducted by James Hamilton officially include whether there has been ANY breach of ANY part of the Ministerial Code by the First Minister - including section 1.3(c) - or is his brief restricted to the narrower aspects of the Code specified in the remit published by the Scottish Government on 3 August?

And whichever of the above applies, has Mr Hamilton been made clearly aware of which aspects of the Code he's being asked to rule on, particularly in the light of the recent comments by Mr Salmond, Mr Cole-Hamilton, Mr Fraser and Ms Baillie?

Response

In response to your first question, in delivering the remit the Independent Adviser is not constrained in taking evidence and reporting on other aspects of the Ministerial Code that he deems to be relevant.
In response to your second question, Mr Hamilton is fully aware of his remit and that he is not constrained in taking evidence and reporting on other aspects of the Ministerial Code that he deems to be relevant.

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