Salmond accuser ‘ left to swim’ by Sturgeon team
A WOMAN who made harassment allegations against Alex Salmond told an inquiry she was ‘basically just dropped’ by the Scottish government.
She said she and a fellow complainant were ‘left to swim’ after the botched probe into the former first minister ended.
The testimony of the woman, who cannot be named, can be reported after a separate inquiry found Nicola Sturgeon misled the Holyrood parliament. It said that the Scottish government’s handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond was ‘seriously flawed’ and the women who made them were ‘badly let down’.
The committee condemned Miss Sturgeon’s decision to keep fighting a legal battle with Mr Salmond ‘despite clear advice’ he would probably win.
It also concluded it was ‘hard to believe’ she had no knowledge of concerns about inappropriate behaviour by Mr Salmond before she was told journalists were looking into the claims in 2017. But Miss Sturgeon was cleared on Monday in a separate probe into whether she breached the ministerial code. She survived a no confidence vote yesterday by 65 votes to 31 and will lead the SNP into elections in May.
Both complainants told how a ‘ blind eye’ was turned to inappropriate behaviour at the time of the alleged incidents. And they dismissed the complaints process as ‘laughable’, saying: ‘Making complaints was simply not the done thing.’
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader at Holyrood, said of Miss Sturgeon: ‘The honourable thing would be to resign.’