Scottish Government hits back at Tory MSP over Nicola Sturgeon memoir claims
He claimed Sturgeon had committed a 'clear violation' of the code in proceeding with the reference.
In his letter to Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, Joe Griffin, he highlighted two parts of the code in a bid to back up his argument, which state that ministers 'must not use public resources for party political purposes' and should 'ensure their decisions are informed by appropriate analysis of the legal considerations and that the legal implications of any course of action are considered at the earliest opportunity'.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon predicts that UK will 'no longer exist' in 20 years
But the Scottish Government has said the reference was 'entirely appropriate'.
A spokesperson said: 'The reference of this question to the Supreme Court was entirely appropriate and intended to achieve legal clarity over whether the Scottish Parliament had the legislative powers to hold an independence referendum, in light of majority support within the Parliament for a referendum. It did that.'
Griffin will respond to Hoy in due course, The National has been told.
Hoy shared his letter on social media claiming Sturgeon had 'wasted taxpayers' money on a doomed court case for party political reasons'.
👇👇👇My letter to the Permanent Secretary:
Nicola Sturgeon wasted taxpayers' money on a doomed court case for party political reasons.
That's a clear misuse of public funds and a clear breach of the ministerial code.
She should repay the money from the proceeds of her book. pic.twitter.com/0Du3iAvihg — Craig Hoy MSP (@CraigWHoy1) August 15, 2025
He went on: 'That's a clear misuse of public funds and a clear breach of the ministerial code. She should repay the money from the proceeds of her book.'
He said in his letter: 'Could you as Permanent Secretary confirm whether you believe this spending complied with the requirements laid out in the code, given Ms Sturgeon's recent comments?
'If not, will the Scottish Government be taking any action to recover public funds that were spent at the direction of Nicola Sturgeon for what were clearly party-political purposes?
'I hope you will thoroughly investigate the implications of Nicola Sturgeon's memoir admission.'
Elsewhere in Frankly, Sturgeon predicted that the United Kingdom will 'no longer exist' in 20 years' time.
She wrote: 'An independent Scotland, a more autonomous Wales and a reunified Ireland will join England, enjoying the benefits of the home rule it will gain as a result, in a new British Isles confederation of nations.'
Sturgeon has been under the spotlight all week following the release of her memoir, with gender reform, the breakdown of her relationship with Alex Salmond, and her record in government all coming under intense scrutiny.
READ MORE: Ian Blackford will not stand as Holyrood 2026 candidate
In a conversation with Kirsty Wark at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Sturgeon denied Salmond had been guilty of 'coercive control' over her, but she did detail how his approval 'mattered to me' and his disapproval 'knocked my confidence'.
'I think, latterly, he probably played on that a little bit, but that was something I realised was there through my psychologist,' she went on.
Sturgeon was also heavily quizzed about her leadership around gender reform.
Earlier this week Sturgeon said she should have paused gender reform legislation that was going through the Scottish Parliament towards the end of her tenure.
The Gender Recognition Reform Bill would have allowed transgender people to self-identify and simplified the requirements to acquire a gender recognition certificate (GRC), before it was blocked by Westminster from becoming law.
She said during the interview that one of the reasons she may not have paused was to not "give in" to transphobic people.
During the interview, she also insisted the British monarchy 'should end quite soon'.
She said following the death of the Queen – who she described as having a 'mystique' around her that other royal family members don't have – more people were starting to see the 'absurdities' of the monarchy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Sir Keir Starmer must show that he is on side of strivers over skivers to avoid further voter resentment
Play fair before it's too late, PM LABOUR'S successes have so far been few and far between. But they have succeeded in one thing — uniting huge numbers of voters in a feeling that the Government is presiding over a country rank with unfairness and double standards. Accusations of the UK becoming a two-tier society started after last summer's riots. This week has shown how that has now morphed into other areas of British life. Chief among the furies of voters is the ongoing incompetent handling of illegal migration. Far from delivering on a promise to smash the gangs and stop the boats, Labour has let in 50,000 illegal migrants in record time. Hard-working but hard-up families who despaired at the £5.7 million a day bill for asylum hotels, now watch in horror as young single men are moved into blocks of flats next door, rent-free. Meanwhile, Labour-run Birmingham council lavishes money on celebrations of Pakistan Independence Day and allows the unfurling of thousands of Palestinian emblems across the city — while insisting English St George flags must be torn down. From taxing small farmers, to driving pubs to closure, Government economic policy has also been woefully unfair. Rachel Reeves's National Insurance rise has cost tens of thousands of ordinary people their jobs and stamped out growth. Yet Labour's union paymasters are handed inflation-busting pay hikes. Families face more massive tax rises in the Autumn — on their hard-earned savings, their pensions and their kids' modest inheritances — to fill the Chancellor's £50billion black hole. Small boat crossings under Labour are on brink of hitting 50,000 - one illegal migrant every 11 mins since the election The diminishing number of people who DO still have a job now must pay more than ever to fund EIGHT MILLION on Universal Credit — where half are under no obligation to look for employment at all. There is no plan for tackling this ruinous waste of money and human potential since ministers caved in to their Left-wing backbenchers over welfare reform. This all adds up to a highly damaging impression that Labour is not treating voters equally. We are told Number Ten now recognises just how important 'fairness' is to the electorate. Good. Now Sir Keir Starmer must show that he really is on the side of the strivers over the skivers. Does our former human rights lawyer Prime Minister have the courage to rip up or radically reform the ECHR, the only way to stop the boats? Will he put money back in families' pockets, or keep relentlessly taxing them to fund projects beloved by the hard-Left of his party? Labour has already squandered public goodwill from its landslide victory. It can ill afford to allow voter resentment to fester further.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
JK Rowling compares Nicola Sturgeon to Donald Trump in scathing book review
JK Rowling has compared Nicola Sturgeon to US president Donald Trump and the Twilight character Bella Swan in a scathing review of the former Scottish first minister's memoir. The Harry Potter author accused Ms Sturgeon of being 'flat out Trumpian in her shameless denial of reality and hard facts' on issues relating to trans and women's rights. Advertisement The writer is a long-time critic of the former SNP leader and her views on gender self-ID. The Twilight of Nicola Sturgeon My review of Frankly — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 14, 2025 In her near-3000-word review, published on her own website, she accuses Ms Sturgeon, who passed gender reform legislation at Holyrood, of holding 'luxury beliefs' that have caused 'real, lasting harm' to women. Rowling published her review on X alongside what appears to be an AI-generated image of Ms Sturgeon in the woods in front of a wolf and a vampire. She said of the politician's memoir, Frankly: 'She remains stubbornly wedded to her belief that it is possible to let some men into women's spaces on the men's say so, without letting any man who fancies it come inside. Advertisement 'She denies there are any risks to a policy of gender self-identification. 'She can't imagine any male predator capitalising on such policies, in spite of the fact that it has, demonstrably, happened many times. 'She is flat out Trumpian in her shameless denial of reality and facts.' Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon at the launch of her memoir 'Frankly', at Edinburgh International Book Festival (Jane Barlow/PA) Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, said the Glasgow Southside MSP had not been 'remotely humbled' by the Supreme Court ruling that sex in the UK Equality Act referred to biological sex. Advertisement The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Act, which was passed by MSPs, was ultimately scrapped by Westminster, with the then Tory government saying it contravened equalities law. In her book, Ms Sturgeon said she had never received as much abuse than when Rowling posted a picture of herself on social media with a T-shirt saying 'Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights'. The former first minister said the post made her feel 'more at risk of possible physical harm'. Rowling defended the decision, writing in her review her intention was to encourage journalists to question Ms Sturgeon on the impacts her gender reforms may have. Advertisement She compares the MSP to Twilight character Bella Swan, saying both were 'monomaniacs', with Mr Sturgeon being 'consumed' by independence. Nicola Sturgeon was compared to Donald Trump in a book review by author JK Rowling (Jane Barlow/PA) She says of them: 'Both shy, insecure teenagers have dates with destiny. 'Nicola Sturgeon will one day become first minister of Scotland. Bella Swan will join the ranks of the undead.' The author said Sturgeon made significant omissions in her memoir, including WhatsApp messages from the Covid pandemic, education standards and the row over delayed and over-budget ferries. Advertisement 'Perhaps the most disgraceful omission — and I'll admit to a personal interest here, because I'm married to a doctor who used to run a methadone clinic, so saw the national scandal up close — is the fact that Scotland continues to lead the whole of Europe in drug deaths,' she said. Ms Sturgeon has said she stands by the principle of gender self-ID but has expressed regret at not pausing her gender reforms in order to find common ground with opponents. Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Thursday, Ms Sturgeon said the debate was 'toxic on both sides'. She accepted that 'in all of the tone and tenor of this I am not saying I was blameless at all', saying she 'desperately' wished she had been able to 'find a more collegiate way forward' on the controversial issue. Ms Sturgeon has been approached for comment.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Rachel Reeves tax grab for woke training & mobiles for migrants makes my teeth itch… here's what Govt SHOULD be doing
AS I'm sure you know, you are taxed on the money you earn. And you must pay more taxes every time you buy anything or go anywhere or fill your car up with fuel or buy a pint or get your hair cut or go on an aeroplane. 5 And if by some miracle you manage to die with a few savings in the bank, they even tax your kids on those. It's your money. You earned it. You paid tax on it. And then they tax it again. It makes my teeth itch. However, for many years, you have been able to pass money on to your children, tax free, providing you live for seven years after the gift is made. But now we are hearing they're even going to tax you on that. Yup. You want to help your kids get on the property ladder. Well you can't because that infernal woman, Rachel Reeves, has decided that it'd be better if you gave your money to her instead. I seriously doubt that. Let me give you an example of the problem. Near to where I live, the local council — which gets a quarter of its cash from the Government — decided to spend £51million on a new park and ride facility next to the busy A40. It was completed last year and it's very snazzy with 850 spaces, charging points for electrical cars, and attractive spaces where commuters can shelter from the rain. Lovely. Apart from one small thing: It's not connected to the road network. Seriously, there's no way anyone can access it, so it's sitting there now, a gigantic blot on the landscape and it cannot be used for parking or riding because neither a bus, nor a car can get into it. Raising taxes will kill off growth, Reeves warned as she pledges to rip up business red tape So they have taken 51million of your pounds. And wasted them. And they are doing that sort of thing, every day, across the whole country. And now Rachel Reeves is saying she needs your money more than your children do so that she can waste it on other stupid stuff like diversity training, and pronoun days and treats for illegal immigrants, all of the net zero nonsense. I don't think Reeves is an unpleasant person. But I do think that she and Starmer and Rayner and Lammy are a bit thick. Lammy especially. 5 5 He can't even go fishing without getting into trouble. That's why they can't get it into their heads that taking our hard-earned money and wasting it is seriously annoying. And it's even more annoying when they want yet more money so they can waste that too. It's really not that difficult to get your head round what needs to be done. Don't raise taxes. Just spend less. A TURN OFF TO DRIVING ONE of my oldest friends lost his driving licence recently, having been caught speeding four times in the last three years. He sounds reckless, until I tell you that the speeds involved were 25, 26, 31 and 35. And this ridiculous attitude to people breaking idiotic 20mph limits is just the tip of the anti-car iceberg. It's now virtually impossible to get a driving test, and if by some miracle you do eventually get a licence, you won't want to buy a car because it bongs at you if you drive too quickly or stray out of lane or take your eyes off the road. I drove a Toyota recently which had a bonging paddy fit and flashed up a message saying, 'Sit up straight'. What's next? 'Clean your teeth'? So cars are annoying, you can't drive them at more than walking speed and now comes news that the drink-drive limit is being lowered to a point where you can't pop to the shops in your motor if you've had so much as a sherry trifle. Plus, unless you can see the bracelet Neil Armstrong left on the moon, your eyes aren't good enough, so you'll have to use the bus instead. Naturally, we are told this is all to save the NHS from the cost of patching up the victims of car accidents. But that's rubbish. It's the drive for net zero. They are making driving so difficult, no one will want to do it. Welcome to stadium of hate, Sophie 5 I WAS astonished to hear this week that after posting pictures of herself at an Oasis gig, the Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner was slammed by a follower who said she must have forgotten she's a mother. Really? So people with children aren't allowed to go out ever? Honestly, I'm beginning to realise that the world was a much nicer place when strangers weren't able to talk to each other. Social media is like a gigantic football stadium . . . where the rival fans can sit where they like. There's going to be trouble. And there is. LEONARDO DICAPRIO tells us that although he's 50, he feels 32. Yeah, but watch out, mate. I was 19 my whole life. Until I got to 65, when all of a sudden, I became 109. NO PET FOOD A ZOO in Denmark has found itself in a spot of bother after asking local people to donate their pet guinea pigs and rabbits. So they can be fed to the big cats . . . We even read this week of a little girl who donated her poorly pony. Which was turned by the zoo keepers into a lion's lunch. I should explain at this point that the animals are not being eaten alive. They are 'gently' killed before being turned into food. But I can see why everyone's getting their knickers in a twist. Because like you, I can't understand why you'd look at your little hamster whizzing round in his wheel and think, 'You know what. I'd like to feed that to a leopard.' You may say this is hypocrisy as I now spend my days farming. But I have a simple rule on the matter. I never eat anything that had a name. DEAD END ON NAME THE boy wonder Kaleb Cooper, who manages my farm, received word this week that his wife was in labour. 'Right,', he said. 'I'll be there when I've finished harvesting this field.' 5 How farmerish is that?!?! Happily, he finished in time to welcome what for him is baby number three, and then our thoughts turned to a name. One of our mates suggested it should be named after the field he was harvesting when the call came through. Nice idea, except for one small detail. The field was called 'Deadman'. Despite the interruption, we did get the harvest finished. And thanks to the drought we've had this year, it was dismal. Seriously, you could fit all the grain we ended up with in a Hoover bag. And this, after the appalling wet weather of last year, which resulted in the country's second- worst harvest on record. A lot of farmers are going to be in a proper financial mess as a result. But at least we have a government which has their back. No, wait . . .
