SNP ministers decided to launch a costly court appeal against a ruling by the Scottish information commissioner despite being warned by legal advisers that it was likely to fail.
John Swinney, then the deputy first minister, took the decision to appeal in the Court of Session in March last year just days before he left office at the end of Nicola Sturgeon’s administration.
Legal advice published on Saturday reveals that Swinney and his successor, Shona Robison, ploughed ahead with the case even though their legal counsel were “pessimistic” about the prospects of success.
Judges threw out the appeal in December and the disclosure of the legal advice behind taking the case to court was demanded by the commissioner in September after ministers refused to publish
