Ministerial obligations, conflict-of-interest advice and decision-making in relation to the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry: FOI release

Information requested

1 — Ministerial Code Compliance and Conflict-of-Interest Assessment

All documents, communications, emails, internal notes, records of meetings, briefings, drafts, or advice:

• concerning any potential, declared, undeclared, perceived or actual conflict of interest arising from Mr Anwar’s relationship with Mr Yousaf, and
• any policy, ethical, legal, or reputational risk assessments relating to the above,
• any advice or instruction concerning whether Mr Yousaf should declare an interest, recuse himself, or seek clearance regarding the decision to establish the Inquiry.

2 — Advice Provided to Ministers Please provide:

• any advice provided by officials, law officers, the Cabinet Secretariat, special advisers, or external advisers regarding the appropriateness and propriety of Mr Yousaf taking this decision;
• any advice concerning the observation of the Nolan Principles (Integrity, Accountability, Openness, etc).

3 — Records of Ministerial Declarations Please supply:

• copies of any ministerial declaration of interest, internal or formal,
• Cabinet Office logs,
• Parliamentary registers,
• or correspondence regarding whether any such declaration was considered unnecessary.

4 — Public Inquiry Funding and Representation Considerations

All records or communications regarding:

• acknowledgement of, or discussion of, public funds being used to employ Mr Anwar to represent the Bayoh family, and
• consideration of whether this financial and professional outcome for a personal friend might engage Ministerial Code obligations.

Please search records from January 2018 to December 2021, including:

• ministerial correspondence
• SPAD communications
• Cabinet Secretariat
• Legal Directorate
• Constitution & Ethics Division
• Justice Directorate
• Teams/Slack/Signal/WhatsApp other application used for government business
• Any document held on private devices where used for official business.

5 — Compliance with the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016

Furthermore, we request disclosure of any and all information, documents, communications, internal notes, compliance checks, or advice held by the Scottish Government concerning:

• compliance with the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 as it relates to lobbying activity undertaken by Mr Aamer Anwar or Aamer Anwar & Co., Solicitors, including any direct or indirect lobbying of Ministers, officials, or Members of the Scottish Parliament in relation to the request, proposal, or campaign for a Public Inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh;
• any records of lobbying returns, declarations, or notifications submitted under the 2016 Act concerning meetings, communications, or lobbying activities carried out by, on behalf of, or in association with, Mr Anwar or his office concerning the establishment of said Inquiry;
• any internal queries, audit checks, compliance reviews, or concerns raised regarding whether lobbying activity was conducted in conformity with the statutory requirements of the 2016 Act;
• any discussion or advice relating to the use of MSPs other than Ministers, acting on behalf of, or lobbying Ministers regarding, the establishment of the Public Inquiry into the death of Mr Bayoh, including whether such involvement falls within reportable lobbying for the purposes of the Act.

We also request:

• any internal policy, procedure, guidance, or steps which Scottish Government officials are required to follow where there is suspicion or allegation that the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 may not have been complied with by individuals or organisations carrying out lobbying activity;
• any documents, emails, internal correspondence, communications with the Scottish Parliament Lobbying Registrar, or escalation measures taken, whether informal or formal, concerning any suspicion of noncompliance in relation to lobbying carried out by or on behalf of Mr Anwar or his firm in connection with the establishment of the Public Inquiry.

Response

I will respond to each of your requests in turn.

Requests 1 & 2

The information you have requested under the first and second parts of your request has already been released by the Scottish Government.

A Freedom of Information request made on 21 December 2023 asked for “Any internal or external correspondence, including any attachments, WhatsApp messages, text messages, instant messaging, memos, OneNotes, minutes, agendas, appendixes or other correspondence relating to Aamer Anwar being included as a "personal friend" in the First Minister's interests”. In response to this request some information was released on 24 January 2024. This is available on the Scottish Government website: Former First Minister's interests correspondence: FOI release - gov.scot

Separately, relevant information was shared with the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic on 11 December 2025. This is available on the Scottish Government's website at Cost-effectiveness of Scottish public inquiries Letter of 11 December 2025 | Scottish Parliament Website.

Request 3

Declarations of interest are proactively published by the Scottish Government. Lists of interest for current Ministers can be found on the Scottish Government website: Interests by minister - List of ministers' interests - gov.scot.

In relation to Mr Yousaf's declarations of interest, I enclose at Annex A details of all of Mr Yousaf's declarations of interest between when he was first appointed a Minister in September 2012 and when he stepped down as First Minister in May 2024. In this document a very small amount of information has been redacted under section 38(1)(b) of
FOISA (personal information) because it relates to third party data. This exemption is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

You asked for information on ‘parliamentary registers’. The MSP Register of Interests is managed by the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government has no role in this. Further information on the MSP Register of Interests can be found on the Scottish Parliament website at Register of Interests | Scottish Parliament Website.

Request 4

Having consulted relevant Directorates in the Scottish Government, I have confirmed that, beyond the information shared above under parts 1-3 of your request, no further relevant information has been identified in searches of Scottish Government records. This is a formal notice under section 17 of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested here.

The Scottish Government does hold any information on the employment of Mr Anwar by the Bayoh family. The Bayoh family, as core participants, are eligible to have their legal fees paid by the Inquiry. The former Cabinet Secretary for Justice issued a determination on behalf of Scottish Ministers under section 40(4) of the Inquiries Act 2005. This provides the Chair of the Inquiry authority to award expenses and legal payments to solicitors and counsel involved in the Inquiry, subject to certain conditions set out in the determination. A copy of the determination is available on the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry website:
file:///C:/Users/u206548/Downloads/Protocol%20for%20the%20Cost%20of%20Legal%20Representation_2%20(5).pdf

Request 5

The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 received Royal Assent in April 2016. The Act sets out that the Scottish Parliament is responsible for overseeing the day to day operation of a publicly accessible lobbying register. The register came into effect on 12 March 2018 and is available on the Scottish Parliament website at Lobbying Register and regulated lobbying | Scottish Parliament Website. The Act places certain duties on those who lobby but no statutory duties are placed on Government Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, Special Advisers or staff supporting those individuals in terms of registering lobbying activity.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information in scope of this part of your request. This is a formal notice under section 17 of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested here.

About FOI

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

FOI 202500496961 - Information released - Annex A

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