The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Accuser was one of FM’s biggest ‘cheerleaders’
Court hears Woman H had said it ‘would be great’ to work with Salmond again
A woman said it “would be great” to work with Alex Salmond again, a year after she alleges he attempted to rape her, a court has heard.
He has claimed he had a “consensual sexual liaison” with the complainer, known as Woman H because she cannot be publicly identified.
However, he denies attempting to rape her at the first minister’s official residence, Bute House in Edinburgh, following a dinner in June 2014, claiming she was not there on the night in question.
The court earlier heard the complainer had been one of Salmond’s biggest “cheerleaders” until he failed to help her with a political project and had been left “annoyed”.
Jurors were shown a text message exchange between Woman H and former SNP MP Tasmina AhmedSheikh in a discussion about the project.
Part of one message sent by the complainer in June 2015 – a year after the attempted rape – read: “Would be great to be working with him again.”
Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, formerly the MP for the Ochils and South Perthshire, told the court how she received the text message from Woman H in 2015.
She said Woman H was also “clearly very annoyed” that a political project for which she sought approval from Mr Salmond had not been endorsed by him.
Ms Ahmed-Sheikh also told the court she had been at Stirling Castle in 2014 and had watched Mr Salmond having his photograph taken with a complainer called Woman K.
Woman K had told the court Mr Salmond had placed his hand on her bottom when the photograph was being taken.
Ms McCall asked: “Did you notice any discomfort on her part?” Ms AhmedSheikh replied: “No I did not.”
The former first minister of Scotland faces allegations of 13 alleged sexual offences against nine women, all of which he denies.
The court also heard from Alex Salmond’s former principal private secretary, who described working with him as a “privilege and a penance”.
Karen Watt, who held the post between 2009 and 2012, said he had been a politician “at the top of his game”.
“I have described my time working with him as a privilege and a penance,” she said.
“It was very exacting, very fast-paced, also very tough, you needed to be quite resilient.”
She added: “He could be very demanding, he would expect people to be on their mark, on top of their game. He could be quite fierce if things weren’t as they should be.”
Another witness said the former first minister was a “tactile, touchyfeely” kind of person but did not act inappropriately.
Former deputy private secretary Lorraine Kay agreed with Gordon Jackson QC, defending, that Salmond was “old-fashioned”.
She also said she had been alone with the former first minister at his official residence a “number of times” and she was unaware of any policy that would prevent such a scenario.
The court has previously heard from several witnesses that female civil servants had been stopped from working with him in Bute House alone during the evening after two alleged sexual assaults.
Alexander Anderson, who worked with Salmond for more than a decade, gave evidence he had not seen him assault anyone at Stirling Castle in 2014 or Woman A in Glasgow in 2008.
It was heard the witness was with the accused around the time of the alleged events.
Salmond, of Strichen, Aberdeenshire, is on trial over accusations of sexual assault, including an attempted rape, spanning a period between June 2008 and November 2014.
His lawyers previously lodged special defences of consent and alibi. Consent was given as a defence for three alleged sexual assaults and an alleged indecent assault against three women.
The trial, before judge Lady Dorrian, continues.
It was very exacting, very fast-paced, also very tough, you needed to be quite resilient.
FORMER PRINCIPAL PRIVATE SECRETARY KAREN WATT