Supreme Court asked to settle dispute over Sturgeon inquiry documents

Harrop, who has said he was an SNP member from 2014 to 2020, has written on the Wings Over Scotland website, external about his efforts to obtain information, claiming the Scottish government has a "pathological aversion to transparency and accountability".

The particular information request that could potentially trigger a Supreme Court ruling asks for material relating to the internal discussions among ministers, advisers and civil servants about whether they could claim an FOI exemption for material gathered by James Hamilton.

While some information was divulged, the government claimed legal privilege over some of the correspondence, with the Court of Session eventually ruling those did not have to be disclosed.

Scottish Labour's acting leader Jackie Baillie claimed that too often "the SNP operates under a cloak of secrecy".

She added: "This legal challenge could have significant implications for the disclosure of information.

"However, it should not take lengthy legal disputes to get answers from the SNP government.

"We need to see an end to the culture of cover-up that the SNP has created and a renewed commitment to openness and integrity in government."

Before his death from a heart attack in October 2024, Salmond was pursuing a separate civil case against the Scottish government, seeking damages arising from unlawful handling of complaints against him.

A millionaire businessman and former rock musician Paul McManus has since taken over the legal rights of that case and has said he will continue the action.