Salmond allies dismiss Met police complaints

THE UK’s biggest police force was handed up to four complaints relating to sexual allegations against Alex Salmond.

The former First Minister was the subject of complaints involving up to four women referred to the Metropolitan Police in London during Police Scotland’s investigation.

Last night, sources close to Mr Salmond said they were minor in nature and insisted the Met had decided to take no further action.

On Monday, a jury cleared him of 13 alleged sexual offences against nine women, including attempted rape, after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh during which Mr Salmond, 65, admitted ‘inappropriate’ but not criminal behaviour.

Officers in London were handed claims which are said to relate to Mr Salmond’s two stints as an SNP MP. He was MP for Banff & Buchan from 1987 until 2010, when he stood down three years after he became First Minister.

The former SNP leader was then the MP for Gordon between 2015 and 2017, when he was defeated by the Conservatives.

One source close to Mr Salmond said: ‘These are comparatively minor allegations the Met won’t go anywhere near.’ The Met declined to comment. Sources close to Mr Salmond suggested to The Times that he was now likely to consider suing the Scottish Government.

The outcome of the court case also raises questions within Police Scotland and the Crown Office over the inquiry and the failure to secure a conviction. A team of fewer than 20 top detectives led the probe under conditions of strict secrecy.

Since its formation in 2013, no criminal probe conducted by Police Scotland has involved a higherprofile public figure.

The elite squad was assigned to carry out the sensitive inquiry, which involved a total of 386 statements from witnesses.

Their central concern was to prevent leaks, which was successfully achieved – thanks to the number of personnel being relatively small.

Fraud, cold case and serious organised crime investigations are more complex than the Alex Salmond case, according to insiders.

But there were unique challenges to be overcome, including the need for total secrecy, the large number of alleged victims, and the multiple locations where the crimes were said to have taken place.