Salmond firm fell into red

Former FM’s business showed negative balance for first time

ALEX Salmond’s company slumped into the red for the first time since it was formed nine years ago.

The value of The Chronicles of Deer dropped to minus £15,718, but Salmond said the figure was “historic” and insisted the company was profitable again.

The firm was set up by the former first minister in 2015 to handle earnings from TV programming, broadcasting activities and book publishing.

He is the sole shareholder and owner of the company. An examination of official filings shows its value has dwindled over the years.

The “total equity” in the firm was £24,369 in 2017 before jumping to £75,838 a year later.

The figure soared to £154,893 in 2019, fell to £62,536 in 2020 and sank to £90 in 2021.

It decreased again to £27 before falling to minus £15,718 in the year to February 2023.

Salmond faced international criticism after he agreed to front a programme for a Russian state broadcaster that supports Vladimir Putin. The former SNP leader suspended the show in 2022 after Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

He previously relinquished control of another company, Slainte Media, which produced the former TV show for RT.

Salmond, who leads the proindependence Alba party, has since attracted fresh criticism after agreeing to front a new show on a Turkish channel.

The “Turkish Tea Talk” show is for public broadcaster TRT, a station critics say is a “propaganda arm” of the Turkish government led by President Erdogan.

Salmond said: “These accounts represent the historic position of a year ago and since then Chronicles of Deer continued to trade successfully. The company has developed a range of new activities and returned to profitability over the last year.”