Supreme Court asked to settle dispute over Sturgeon inquiry documents

The UK's Supreme Court is being asked to rule on the Scottish government's refusal to release documents linked to an inquiry that cleared Nicola Sturgeon of breaching the ministerial code.

Ministers have cited legal professional privilege as grounds for refusing a freedom of information (FOI) request from a member of the public.

Benjamin Harrop was seeking internal emails, messages and other communications about whether the government had a legal right to withhold the material.

The Court of Session later overturned a ruling by Information Commissioner David Hamilton that the documents should be released, but Hamilton is now seeking permission to take the case to the UK's highest court.

Scotland's FOI law allows some information requests to be refused if they would compromise confidential communications between lawyers and their clients - but it is subject to a public interest test.

Hamilton said he was worried that the Court of Session ruling had wider implications, making it too difficult to obtain legally-privileged documents.

He said: "It is my view that this ruling runs contrary to the parliament's clear intention behind the FOI Act."

"There are significant implications and risks placed on the public's right to access information because of this ruling – it is therefore clearly in the public interest that I seek to challenge this at the Supreme Court".