FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon is embroiled in a secrecy row over the Alex Salmond sexual harassment claims after newly-released logs were silent on meetings between the pair.

Mrs Sturgeon, who learned of her Government’s investigation into the claims in April, met Mr Salmond multiple times to discuss the probe, but none of the meetings have appeared in her official engagement disclosures.

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: "The people of Scotland expect full transparency in this case. It is understood that Alex Salmond met the First Minister on multiple occasions to discuss the investigation into allegations of sexual assault into him.

"It now clear that those meetings may not have been recorded in Nicola Sturgeon's ministerial diary."

Mrs Sturgeon’s Government launched an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Mr Salmond after complaints were made by two women in January. The incidents allegedly took place in 2013.

The probe was independent of the First Minister and handled by permanent secretary Leslie Evans, who is the most senior civil servant in the administration.

The findings were referred to the police and Mr Salmond, who denies the claims, launched a judicial review to challenge what he believes was an unfair investigation based on a flawed procedure.

Mr Salmond has not criticised Mrs Sturgeon, his political protege, and has instead directed his anger at Mrs Evans, who has defended the Government’s handling of a matter that has dominated Scottish politics for weeks.

However, Mrs Sturgeon has faced questions of her own after Mr Salmond said they had met on multiple occasions during the course of the investigation. Her Government has not provided the dates.

After details of the internal probe were leaked to a national newspaper, Mrs Sturgeon told the BBC she had first heard about the “fact” of the investigation from Mr Salmond in April.

At a press conference on the same say, Mr Salmond said he had met his predecessor three times “in person” where “this subject has come up”.

Asked if he told Mrs Sturgeon that the investigation should be dropped, he replied:

“Private conversations, as far as I'm concerned, are private conversations.”

As part of the Government’s transparency agenda, Ministerial engagements are published retrospectively. Meetings, speeches, dinners and conference are included in the release of information.

The Government recently published the lists covering April to June, but Mr Salmond’s name did not appear in Mrs Sturgeon’s register.

Nearly 200 of the First Minister’s engagements showed up on the Government website, including meetings with members of the public and school pupils.

A Holyrood source said the detail of the logs suggested that either the Salmond engagements were not recorded, or that the three meetings took place in either July or August.

Mrs Grant added: “It would be completely unacceptable if the details of those meetings remained unknown. The allegations against Alex Salmond are incredibly serious. His meetings with the head of a government that was investigating him must not be kept under wraps. Nicola Sturgeon must publish the details and minutes of these meetings as soon as possible."

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “The whole point of detailing ministerial meetings is so government can be accountable, and that meetings in the public interest aren’t hidden behind closed doors.

“The SNP government should be absolutely transparent about where these meetings took place and when.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister was made aware of the fact of the investigation by Alex Salmond in April. The First Minister was clear to Alex Salmond that she had no role in the process and would not intervene. For legal reasons we are unable to comment further at this time.”

Asked whether the April contact was a telephone call or a meeting, the spokesperson declined to comment.

A spokesperson for Mr Salmond said: “As Alex has explained since the open press conference three weeks ago he intends to make no further public statement on these matters but to let the Court of Session proceedings take their course.”

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond's lawyers said yesterday that their client would be "happy" to meet Police Scotland as part of their investigation into the claims.