Information regarding Janey Godley appearance on Covid-19 advert: FOI release

Information requested

1. Whether Scottish Government funds were used to pay Ms Godley?

2. If payment was taken out of the bike SNP party funds?

3. Will Ms Godley be reported to the police for hate crime?

Response

1. Ms Godley received a fee of £10,000 + VAT for participation in the campaign. This payment is in-line with the industry standard for such a high-profile campaign. Ms Godley has now agreed to donate her fee to charity.

2. SNP funds were not involved in the delivery of the campaign.

3. Scottish Ministers are unable to investigate alleged criminal activity nor do they have the power to instruct the police to investigate alleged criminal activity. This is to preserve the operational independence of our criminal justice system and to keep it free from political interference. We encourage anyone who considers they have experienced or witnessed a hate crime – or any crime - to report it to Police Scotland at the earliest opportunity. 101 may be dialled in non-emergencies. Alternatively reports can be made online by completing Police Scotland’s online hate crime reporting form. You can also report a hate crime through your nearest third party reporting centre.

About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.