Alex Salmond is out to get his revenge

By resigning and launching a crowdfunder to pay for his defence, he has thrown the SNP into disarray

Any suggestion that Alex Salmond decided to resign from the SNP as a way of admitting to the sexual assault charges against him could not be further from the truth. Instead it was the calculated action of a man who is determined not to lie down when he believes that sections of the government and party he dominated for decades appear ready to throw him to the wolves. He is fighting back with all the passion and guile that the world has come to associate with this talented but egotistical politician.

Whether he’s guilty of the allegations or not, one thing is crystal clear: this Salmond Offensive shows no sign of letting up and has provoked an unprecedented crisis in this so far successful and disciplined party. Its Programme for Government – the Scottish equivalent of the Queen’s Speech – is due to be delivered by Salmond’s successor as First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on Tuesday. Five weeks later, at the SNP’S annual conference, she had planned to rally activists for another referendum on independence. A huge shadow is cast over the former and a definite decision on Indyref2 must be in grave doubt.

It is only seven days since the news broke that Mr Salmond, First Minister from 2007 until his referendum defeat in 2014, had been reported to the police after an investigation instigated by Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, into allegations that he had sexually assaulted two members of staff.

He has hired one of Scotland’s best-known QCS, Ronnie Clancy, and strenuously denies the claims – in one case that he touched the bottom and breasts of a staff member, allegations that were graphically revealed in the Daily Record newspaper. He tried but failed to get an interdict (injunction) to stop the Scottish Government publicising that the complaints had been referred to the police. And he is demanding that a formal inquiry be set up by the government to discover if it was a civil servant or a politician who leaked the story to the press.

He is also seeking a judicial review in the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest court, to determine whether the investigation was, as he says, unlawful and unfair in that he wasn’t told the nature of the complaints.

That has yet to be heard but Salmond didn’t blink when legal experts warned that it would cost at least £50,000; instead he launched a crowdfunding appeal, which within hours had easily surpassed that total thanks to thousands of donations pouring in, ranging from one pound to £1,000. By midday yesterday the total raised was almost £80,000.

Opposition politicians expressed outrage that the reasonably wellheeled Salmond should resort to this tactic to fight his case. Others, however, reckoned that it wasn’t just about the money – but that raising so much in such a short space of time showed his detractors, in the SNP and elsewhere, that he is still a formidable force to reckon with.

The ostensible purpose of his resignation from the SNP is to allow him time to clear his name but he also said he didn’t want the allegations against him to dominate the political agenda in the weeks running up to the SNP conference. However, taken together with his “crowdfunder”, it has signalled both the strength of his activist support and that he wishes to be master of his own future, given that Sturgeon had said that, while there was no current legal basis for suspending him, the situation could change. (Interestingly, but probably coincidentally, she urged people to join a crowd funding appeal for Women’s Aid yesterday).

Although belatedly expressing some sympathy for Salmond’s predicament, she has insisted that the complaints by the two women must be properly investigated and that nobody is immune from investigation. She was supported, yesterday, by Ian Blackford, the SNP’S leader in the Commons and a man with a record of often bitter clashes with Salmond. The complaints, he said, “must not be swept under the carpet”.

This sentiment is gaining ground. Salmond has many supporters, including those who think he’s been the target of a “British establishment plot”, but he would be ill-advised to underestimate the determination of many to see this issue through. After all, behind all the politicking, two women have made very serious allegations against this famous man.