The SNP will chair a committee looking at the Scottish Government’s handling of the Alex Salmond allegations under a plan agreed by MSPs.
A Holyrood inquiry is to be conducted by nine parliamentarians, including a Nationalist convener and Tory deputy.
The membership of the committee was decided at the cross-party parliamentary bureau on Tuesday.
It is understood there will be four SNP MSPs, two Conservatives and one from each of Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green.
Opposition politicians have made clear their concern at an SNP politician taking the helm.
Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden welcomed the panel’s creation but added: “We are disappointed the SNP has refused to forfeit convenership of a committee probing issues which have occurred within its own party.”
At First Minister’s Questions last week, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard urged Nicola Sturgeon to call for a non-SNP chairman in spite of the precedent that it is her party’s turn to take the helm.
Neil Findlay, the Labour MSP, said: “Labour argued against the SNP chairing this committee during the meeting, but did not want to block establishing the committee.
“It is now a matter for the SNP to decide if it thinks chairing the committee is appropriate.”
An SNP spokeswoman said: “This is a matter for the Parliamentary Bureau, in which all Holyrood parties are represented.”
The Court of Session ruled the Scottish Government’s investigation into sexual misconduct claims against Salmond was unlawful and “tainted with apparent bias”.
Civil servants breached government rules that no-one with prior contact with the complaints can be involved in the investigation.
The Holyrood inquiry is expected to probe the mistakes made by the government, but its remit is still to be decided.
A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said: “Bureau members unanimously agreed to the establishment of a nine person committee, convened by a member of the SNP with the deputy convener coming from the Conservative Party.
“The bureau will finalise issues around remit and membership at its next meeting.”
Separately, Salmond was last week charged with 14 offences including two counts of attempted rape.
The former First Minister says he is “innocent of any criminality”.
