Alistair Carmichael leak investigation dropped

A probe into the involvement of Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael in a leaked memo from the Scotland Office has been dropped by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.

The memo claimed SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon had told the French ambassador she would prefer a Conservative victory at the General Election last year, something they both denied. It was leaked to the Daily Telegraph ahead of the election in an attempt to damage the SNP.

After being elected Liberal Democrat Carmichael admitted he had authorised his special adviser to leak the memo.

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Standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson has said the incident falls outwith her remit, as Carmichael had been made aware in his role as Secretary of State for Scotland, not as a constituency MP.

“I have established that the conduct which led to my inquiry falls outside my remit. I do not, therefore, make any criticism, or indeed any other comment, on Mr Carmichael's conduct in this affair,” she said.

Carmichael said he was “pleased” the matter had been resolved.

Four constituents pursued a legal case against the MP, but in December judges ruled he had not broken the law, despite telling a “blatant lie” in a television interview.