The Telegraph report:
Scottish ministers published figures showing they spent £19,452.92 going to court to appeal a ruling by the Freedom of Information (FOI) Commissioner that they had to disclose whether they had sought advice from their law officers on the issue.
Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, suddenly announced the case was being dropped last year because “no specific legal advice” existed, but it was not previously known how much public cash had been wasted.
The row was particularly damaging for the pro-independence campaign as Mr Salmond had previously suggested in a television interview that he had received advice from Scottish Government law officers.