The Scottish establishment is playing into Salmond’s hands

The most remarkable — and chilling — day in the history of Scottish devolution ends the only way it could: Alex Salmond has pulled out of an appearance before the Holyrood inquiry. The road to his withdrawal began on Monday evening with the publication of a key document in the long-running inquiry. The submission, in which Salmond alleges that Nicola Sturgeon broke the ministerial code, was uploaded to the Scottish parliament website ahead of an evidence session by Salmond on Wednesday. However, the Crown Office contacted Holyrood authorities and demanded they remove or redact the submissions. The parliament complied, replacing it with a further-redacted version.

When The Spectator published this very document in January, it was in defiance of a Holyrood inquiry that refused even to admit it into evidence. When the magazine went to court to ensure as much of Salmond’s evidence as possible could be seen by the public, it was against a backdrop of secrecy and obstruction that has come to define the inquiry’s attempts to reach the truth.