Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has been urged to bring her Special Advisers into line after claims some were breaching the Civil Service Code of Conduct.
It follows Ms Sturgeon’s Chief of Staff, Liz Lloyd (pictured) deleting a tweet in which she made a political attack on United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
The Opposition Scottish Conservative Party says there had been more than 100 other alleged breaches by Ms Lloyd.
Research by the Conservatives claimed that seven more of Ms Sturgeon’s Special Advisers had also used social media to make political points in favour of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP).
Special Advisers are taxpayer-funded and therefore must adhere to the Scottish Government Code of Conduct covering their work.
This says they “must not take public part in political controversy, through any form of statement whether in speeches or letters to the press, or in books, social media, articles or leaflets.”
“They must observe discretion and express comment with moderation, avoiding personal attacks, and would not normally speak in public for a Minister, or the Scottish Government,” the Code says.
One of the seven is Kate Higgins who posted a tweet with the line “all our efforts to rid Scotland of the Tories”.
The Conservatives also say that Ross Ingebrigtsen, Ms Sturgeon’s Deputy Political Spokesperson, has posted tweets attacking the UK Government.
Chief Whip of the Scottish Conservatives, Miles Briggs said that when the First Minister’s Chief of Staff was exposed for flagrantly breaking Public Service rules it was shocking.
“We now see seven others in Sturgeon’s inner circle who are all on the Civil Service public payroll yet pump out blatant SNP propaganda,” Mr Briggs said.
A Government spokesperson said: “Paragraph 12 of the Code of Conduct makes very clear that Special Advisers ‘are able to represent Ministers’ views with a degree of political commitment that would not be possible for other Civil Servants’.”
Edinburgh, 16 February 2021
