FRESH from his government being held “in contempt” of the information commissioner, First Minister John Swinney has dismissed his call for a “discussion” on extending freedom of information (FOI) legislation to cover political parties.

Speaking at the Scottish Public Information Forum on Monday, the Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton said that he would “not hold my breath” on the move, but argued: “I think at least we should have that discussion.”

The First Minister, whose government was last week criticised both by the commissioner and the Court of Session over its tardy release of the so-called “Salmond files,” however, insisted: “Public authorities are covered by the Freedom of Information legislation. Political parties are not public authorities.”

The SNP leader, whose former chief executive recently admitted to looting over £400,000 from party coffers to fund a 12-year luxury spending spree, said it was for political parties to “exercise their responsibility in relation to their own governance,” adding it was “for each party to regulate themselves in the context of the regulation of regulation undertaken by independent bodies like the Electoral Commission.”

The First Minister added: “Political parties are subjected to regulation by the Electoral Commission, political parties are membership organisations that are entitled to determine their own choices and their own priorities.”

Labour MSP Katy Clark’s Freedom of Information Reform (Scotland) Bill won support for its general principles in February before running out of parliamentary time, but addressing the Scottish Public Information Forum, she made clear her intentions to continue the fight for reform.

“The Scottish government didn’t seriously engage with the detail of the Bill during the last parliament,” she said.

“What we’re asking from the Scottish government this time is that they engage seriously with the proposals in the Bill.”

She added: “An attempt to have a meaningful discussion with the Scottish government about the proposals that are within the Bill seems to me to be the best next step.

“What I am now seeking, hopefully in the coming weeks and hopefully before the summer recess is a meeting to discuss the content and the substance of the proposals.

“If we look overall at the political composition of the parliament I think it is fair to say there is likely to be an appetite for FOI reform.”