Civil servant afraid complaining could do damage to her career

A civil servant told the court she felt “pretty humiliated” by Alex Salmond touching her bottom.

The witness, referred to as Woman D who spent part of career working with the former first minister, said there were occasions when she walked with the politician.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC asked if anything happened that caused her some concern.

She said: “Sometimes, not all the time. Sometimes when walking with the first minister he would offer me his arm and it was quite hard not to take it.

“From time to time he would encourage me to go in front of him.”

“At times he would place his hand on my back. He would place his hand lower down on my bottom,” she said.

She told the court: “It made me feel extremely uncomfortable.”

The woman said it had happened more than 10 times. She said she had not encouraged or agreed to the former first minister touching her bottom. She said he would also touch her hair, face and arm.

Mr Prentice asked if she put up with it and she replied: “Yes, I suppose so.”

When the prosecutor asked her why, she said: “He was the leader of the country. I really liked my job and valued my job.” The woman said that she felt if she made a formal complaint it would be “my word against his and I was really concerned it would damage my career”.

She said she found the touching of her hair “weird” and a very demeaning experience.

The woman said that during an overseas trip she was in a hotel lift with the former first minister and another civil servant when Mr Salmond reached over to touch her face before her senior colleague intervened.

The civil servant said her colleague said “something along the lines of ‘what do you think you are doing?”

The woman said: “I was utterly aghast and shocked.”