Nicola Sturgeon says Alex Salmond could have leaked probe against him and addresses conspiracy claim
Nicola Sturgeon has revealed what she “found hardest to come to terms with” as Alex Salmond was accused of sexual harassment by several women.
Nicola Sturgeon has been branded “ludicrous” after she suggested Alex Salmond could have leaked a sexual misconduct investigation against him.
The former first minister has hit out at the "truly disgraceful” attempt of Mr Salmond to “distort and weaponise” his alleged victims’ trauma as she accused him of being ”determined to destroy me”.
In an excerpt of her new memoir, Frankly, published in the Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon insists that a conspiracy against Mr Salmond, which he and his allies have claimed without proof had taken place, was “a fabrication”.
Mr Salmond was cleared of any criminality at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020 and died last year.
In her book, Ms Sturgeon acknowledged Mr Salmond was “acquitted of criminal behaviour”, but stressed that during the trial, “a picture emerged of behaviour towards women that, on occasion, had been inappropriate”.
She added: “He seemed content during his trial to concede this, to persuade a jury that while he could have been a ‘better man’, he wasn’t guilty of actual offences. What he never did was show any contrition.”
Referring to a conspiracy, which Mr Salmond and his allies were adamant had occurred against him, Ms Sturgeon stressed it “would have needed a number of women deciding to concoct false allegations, without any obvious motive for doing so”.
Conspiracy a ‘fabrication
She added: “It would then have required criminal collusion between them, senior ministers and civil servants, the police and the Crown. That is what he was alleging.
“The ‘conspiracy’ was a fabrication, the invention of a man who wasn’t prepared to reflect honestly on his own conduct. This is what I found hardest to come to terms with.”
Details of a Scottish Government investigation into Mr Salmond were leaked to the Daily Record newspaper. Last year, Police Scotland confirmed no action would be taken about the leak.
But Ms Sturgeon has suggested the leak could have come from Mr Salmond himself, stressing the action could have been “classic Alex”.
She said: “It crossed my mind many times that it might have been Alex himself or someone acting on his behalf.
“To those with no experience of the dark arts of media manipulation, I know this will sound preposterous. However, in many ways it would have been classic Alex.
“I had known him to make these kinds of calculations in the past. If there is damaging information certain to emerge about you and there is nothing you can do to stop it, get it out in a way that gives you the best chance of controlling the narrative.”
Ms Sturgeon has also claimed that Mr Salmond asking her to intervene in the investigations into her predecessor signalled the breakdown of the duo’s relationship.
Salmond ‘effectively admitted substance’ of one claim
Referring to an exchange in her house when she was first made aware of the claims against him, Ms Sturgeon said that “after appearing to be upset and mortified by the allegations, Alex became cold”.
She added: “He effectively admitted the substance of one of the complaints, but claimed that it had been a ‘misunderstanding’, for which he had apologised at the time.”
Alba leader Kenny MacAskill, an ally of Mr Salmond, has accused Ms Sturgeon of “hypocrisy” over her claims.
Writing on X, Mr MacAskill said: “It’s one thing to be supposedly candid in your autobiography. Quite another to block openness and transparency when in office and by those you continue to support.
Sturgeon’s claims ‘ludicrous’
“This hypocrisy yet another reason for an inquiry into the Scottish Government’s actions relating to Alex Salmond.”
Mr MacAskill, who last month insisted he would “never forgive” Ms Sturgeon, has accused her of attempting to “rewrite history” and “distorting the truth” over her claims.
Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who lost her seat with a majority of almost 12,000 last year, said: “On her own admission Sturgeon knew about the allegations in March 2018. And the idea that Alex leaked the existence of them to the Daily Record is ludicrous.
“He was about to sue the Scottish Government in part to stop them publishing. The Scottish chattering classes know that it was someone close to Sturgeon whose chosen organ for briefing against her enemies was the Record and who was close to the journalist who broke the story.”
‘Not credible’ Salmond behind leak
David Clegg, the journalist who broke the story for the Daily Record, told the BBC that claims Mr Salmond leaked the story himself are “not credible” and he would “be very surprised if it was the case”.
Speaking on the Sunday Show, Mr Clegg said that “a document turned up in the post at the Record office”, adding that “if it was Alex Salmond” who had sent it, he did an “incredible acting job of seeming surprised and shocked” when they spoke about the story.
Mr Clegg said he “had some suspicions” about who sent it but added: “The truth is, I’m not even sure who it was.”
Sturgeon came ‘perilously close’ to breakdown
Ms Sturgeon has also revealed that in January 2024, as she broke down in tears while giving evidence to he UK Covid inquiry, she came "perilously close” to a breakdown.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon said she “was not suicidal” but admitted she “was definitely in a bad state”.
The former first minister has revealed she underwent weeks of therapy which “didn’t cure everything” but “brought back my sense of perspective and equilibrium”. Ms Sturgeon also said that she is considering a move to London, a city she has “always loved”.
She added: “A future where I can go anywhere, live anywhere I want, form new relationships. I can meet new people, I can do new things, I can find out what it is I want to do with the rest of my life.”
Asked if she has left politics for good, Mr Sturgeon said: “Well, life takes you in all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, so you can never say categorically. But if you’re asking me right now, yes, I rule out a return to frontline politics.”
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