Texts ‘weren’t part of a plot to bring Alex down’

Peter murrell yesterday said he regretted the ‘out of character’ language he used in text messages about Alex Salmond.

the SNP’s chief executive appeared to suggest that Police Scotland should be pressured to pursue his party’s former leader.

the messages were sent the day after mr Salmond had first appeared in court and was charged with a series of sexual assault offences, which he strongly denied.

the initial message to an unnamed person said: ‘totally agree folk should be asking the police questions. Report now with the PF (procurator fiscal) on charges which leaves police twiddling their thumbs. So good time to be pressuring them. Would be good to know met looking at events in London.’

Another stated: ‘to be honest the more fronts he is having to firefight the better for all complainers. So CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) action would be a good thing.’

Yesterday, mr murrell told MSPS the messages did not mean to suggest the police should be leaned on. He said: ‘i can see the language that i used was open to misinterpretation. it wasn’t about pressuring the police.’

He acknowledged that when the text was sent on January 26, 2019, he had ‘ some awareness that CPS action was possible or pending’ in relation to complaints about mr Salmond from people in Westminster.

But Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie questioned how this was possible, when this did not become public until march 2020.

miss Baillie asked mr murrell if the texts were ‘evidence of a plot to ensure the downfall of Alex Salmond and that you had a key role in that’.

mr murrell said: ‘ No, because he had been charged by the time i sent those text messages. All complainers had come forward by that point, and the police had charged him, and he’d appeared in court. So it’s not true.’