Security inquiry over e-mail 'leak'

Wendy Alexander said there was a paucity of ideas

An urgent investigation has been launched into claims that someone has tampered with the Scottish Parliament e-mail account of a former minister.

Labour MSP Wendy Alexander demanded the security inquiry after documents were apparently forwarded to a newspaper from her computer.

Ms Alexander, who quit as enterprise minister earlier this year, launched a stinging attack on the party in correspondence with a senior nationalist.

It wasn't Wendy Alexander that leaked it, and it wasn't me

Jim Sillars

The Scottish Sun newspaper has obtained copies of correspondence between Ms Alexander and former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars which was written following her shock departure.

In it the MSP said she believes almost a century has passed since Scotland's Labour Movement last made a "real intellectual contribution" to the UK Labour Party.

Ms Alexander suggested to Mr Sillars "the faces on the Mound" are unlikely to change much in the next 20 years, as politicians struggle to reflect their "vision".

Mr Sillars confirmed the exchange of correspondence, but said he was unaware of how the Paisley North MSP's reply had reached the media.

"It wasn't Wendy Alexander that leaked it, and it wasn't me," he said.

Jim Sillars wrote to Wendy Alexander after she quit

"It's obviously part of a dirty tricks campaign against this particular young woman."

Ms Alexander is currently in South Korea, but an aide said she would not comment on stolen correspondence.

A Scottish Parliament spokesman said: "Wendy Alexander has asked parliament to check whether there has been a breach of parliament's IT security arrangements.

"We will look into this as a matter of urgency.

"Should there be evidence of a breach of our IT security, we will take action as appropriate."

Ministerial Mondeos

In the letter, Ms Alexander said: "I think perhaps one of the last times the Labour Movement in Scotland made a real intellectual contribution to the UK Labour Party was around the rapid growth of the Independent Labour Party in 1906."

Elsewhere she wrote: "If there are not some of us who are prepared to give up our ministerial Mondeos in order to think, why should we have high expectations for the nation?"

And on devolution, she said: "As perhaps more people in your party than mine anticipated, the Scottish Parliament has led to Scottish politics now departing from the UK narrative.

The intellectual bankruptcy of the Labour Party has been laid bare by this letter

John Swinney
SNP leader

"None of us, in any party, can now simply ride on the coat tails of colleagues elsewhere."

SNP leader John Swinney described the letter as a "frank admission" which added to pressure on Mr McConnell ahead of his speech to the UK Labour Party conference in Blackpool.

In that speech he paid tribute to "great Scots" like Gordon Brown, Robin Cook and John Reid, whose ideas had contributed to progress.

"I have been proud to see - in the last decade alone - a great Scot, John Smith, lead our party through the crucial steps on the road back to victory," said Mr McConnell.

A Scottish Labour spokeswoman said: "Wendy is entitled to her view, despite the fact that she is wrong.

"Even in the last few weeks we have seen the executive use the substantial powers of the Scottish Parliament to deliver record levels of investment in our public services."

'Frank admission'

However, Mr Swinney said: "The intellectual bankruptcy of the Labour Party has been laid bare by this letter.

"It is a frank admission that Jack McConnell and his ministers have no idea how to tackle Scotland's problems, no idea how to boost economic growth, and no idea how to get our public services back to being world class. They simply take their orders from London Labour."

David McLetchie, leader of the Scottish Tories, accused the former minister of being partly responsible for the public's low regard of Holyrood because of her role in the Section 28 debate.

Jack McConnell addressed the Labour conference

A former management consultant, Ms Alexander became one of Donald Dewar's special advisers, helping him craft the Scotland Act that led to devolution.

Deeply affected by Mr Dewar's sudden death from a brain haemorrhage, Ms Alexander did not join the race to succeed him.

She clashed with Mr Dewar's successor Henry McLeish, when as his enterprise and lifelong learning minister she refused to take on ministerial responsibility for water.

And she disappointed some of her own supporters by backing out of the race to succeed Mr McLeish last November.

The addition of the transport brief to her already wide-ranging ministerial portfolio, also led to talk of an over-burdening workload before her decision to quit Jack McConnell's cabinet in the spring.

Ms Alexander was unavailable for comment on Sunday night and was understood to be flying to Korea.