Exclusive:Joanna Cherry: John Swinney should launch probe into allegations of a plot against Alex Salmond
KC insists there should be an internal SNP probe
John Swinney “should launch an investigation" into claims of a plot against Alex Salmond, former SNP MP Joanna Cherry has said.
Ms Cherry claims in a new book that Scottish government insiders conspired against the late First Minister during an investigation into sexual assault allegations.
The KC said there should be an internal probe but said Mr Swinney is “invested” in a cover up.
Speaking at a book launch event in Edinburgh, Ms Cherry said: “Of course, there should be an internal investigation into the party, but there's absolutely no way that John will do that.
“I don't think John was part of the skullduggery that went on in relation to Alex, but I think John is invested in the cover up for the sake of the party, because he's a party man.
“For me, it's country before party. But for many of my colleagues on the SNP, it's party before country.”
Mr Salmond, who died in 2024, was cleared of 13 sexual assault charges following a trial in 2020.
Ms Cherry, MP for Edinburgh South West from 2015 until 2024, is an outspoken critic of Nicola Sturgeon and a close ally of Mr Salmond.
All claims have been firmly denied by the SNP.
In her memoir, Keeping the Dream Alive, the KC also claims Mr Salmond told her the party had hired a private detective to follow him.
She writes that she believed that she may also have been under surveillance.
At Thursday evening event, Ms Cherry added that it was also thought a member of Mr Salmond’s legal team was being watched too.
Ms Cherry described how she had been concerned enough that for “several months” she wouldn’t put medication packaging in her bin in case her rubbish was being gone through.
Ms Cherry said: “I had already started to notice a modus operandi in the SNP, a way of operating whereby complaints were ignored unless they could be weaponised against individuals who were seen as rebellious or troublesome by the leadership.
“And I was aware of some pretty serious complaints that were outstanding in the party that hadn't been addressed.
“It's quite hard to talk about but I've tried to set it out in the book in a sort of lawyerly way, and approach the evidence that I believe suggests builds up a case, a prima facie case, to answer that there was a conspiracy against him.”
Ms Cherry said Mr Salmond told her there “might have been a private detective following one of his defence counsel and other people involved with the trial.
“He believed that private detective had been paid for by somebody in SNP HQ.”
Asked by The Scotsman if he was going to read Ms Cherry's book, Mr Swinney said: "I have no plans to read her book."
Instead, he made a recommendation of his own, adding: "I'm reading a very good book just now, Liam Mcilvanney's The Good Father. It's a super read."
Pressed over whether the SNP hired a private investigator to spy on Mr Salmond, as claimed by Ms Cherry, Mr Swinney said: "I understand that's not true.”
However, senior sources within the SNP have told The Scotsman there is a “general understanding” that Mr Salmond was investigated by the party.
They said: “The issue is not in dispute and barely has cause to be mentioned because we all have a general understanding that did happen.”
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