Salmond hits back at claims he sexually assaulted staff

FORMER Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond admitted yesterday he is ‘no saint’, but denied claims of sexual misconduct towards two female staff members while he was the country’s first minister.

Mr Salmond allegedly carried out one assault at Bute House in Edinburgh, the first minister’s official residence, in December 2013.

Yesterday, the 63-year-old told the BBC he ‘had made many mistakes’ in his life, ‘political and personal’, adding: ‘I’m no saint, I’ve got flaws – I understand that.’

But he insisted: ‘I have not sexually harassed anyone and I certainly have not been engaged in criminality.’

News of the claims emerged in Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper on Thursday. The allegations are understood to have been passed to police by government officials after an internal inquiry. Police Scotland said it was ‘not going to comment on whether an inquiry is ongoing’.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who replaced Mr Salmond after he stepped down in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum, said the complaints cannot be ‘swept under the carpet’ despite the ‘extremely difficult situation’ created for her and the SNP.

Asked by the BBC if Mr Salmond was still a member of the SNP, she said: ‘These matters will be considered in the fullness of time. This has not been a party investigation.’