Summary of business appointments applications - Rt Hon Alex Salmond
Updated 19 July 2017
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Rt Hon Alex Salmond left his role as First Minister of Scotland in November 2014.
1. Presenter, LBC radio
Alex Salmond asked for the Committee’s advice about accepting a contract to host a weekly 30-minute radio talk show on LBC.
When considering this application the Committee took into account that the Permanent Secretary in the Scottish Government had no concerns about this appointment.
The Committee advised that the appointment be subject to the following conditions:
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that he should not draw on any privileged information available to him as First Minister; and
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for two years from his last day in ministerial office, he should not become personally involved in lobbying the Scottish Government on behalf of LBC or its parent company, Global Radio plc.
The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Salmond in August 2016.
2. Columnist
Mr Salmond sought the Committee’s advice on accepting contracts for part time, paid work to contribute regular articles to a number of named national and local newspapers on current affairs, politics and sport.
The Committee advised Mr Salmond that it saw no reason why he should not accept the contracts with the named newspaper organisations, subject to the following conditions:
• he should not draw on any privileged information available to him from his time in Government; and
• for two years from his last day in ministerial office he should not become personally involved in lobbying the Scottish Government on behalf of his new clients.
The Committee also asked Mr Salmond to seek confirmation from the Committee directly that any additional contracts (not already named) were permissible before taking them up. If, after enquiry, the Committee takes the view that a contract is, or may be, substantially different, he would be expected to submit a fresh application.
The Committee wrote its advice letter to Mr Salmond in January 2015 and he took up the first of the contracts later that month.