Salmond named people he claims tried to remove him from public life

Alex Salmond has agreed to appear before the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s unlawful investigation of sexual harassment claims made against him.

The former first minister pulled out of a scheduled evidence session on Wednesday after the Scottish Parliament belatedly redacted his written submission the day before he was due to appear, but he offered to attend today instead.

He is expected to give evidence on the botched investigation and face questions about his allegations that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has misled Parliament and breached the ministerial code.

In his written submission, Mr Salmond named people he claims were involved in a “malicious and concerted” attempt to see him removed from public life and described the Crown Office – the body responsible for prosecuting crimes in Scotland – as “simply not fit for purpose”.

Ms Sturgeon has insisted there is “not a shred of evidence” that there was a conspiracy against Mr Salmond and she has denied lying to Parliament. She is scheduled to appear before the committee to give evidence next Wednesday.

The committee was set up to examine the Scottish Government’s botched investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Mr Salmond.

He successfully challenged the lawfulness of the investigation at the Court of Session – Scotland’s highest civil court – and it was found to be “tainted by apparent bias” because the investigating officer had prior contact with two of the women who made complaints. He was subsequently awarded a £512,250 payout.

Mr Salmond was later acquitted of 13 charges of sexual assault in a criminal trial.

Confusion reigned yesterday over changes to Holyrood’s Covid-19 hotel quarantine rules for Scots returning from overseas oil jobs.

A trade union indicated yesterday afternoon that restrictions were being relaxed for oil workers re-entering Scotland “from or via a non-acute country”.

But it has since been clarified that only those travelling back to Scotland from “an installation in the North Sea” via a low-risk country will be allowed to self-isolate at home with their families.

The update will come as a relief to the many Scots employed on rigs off Norway, who will not be required to stay in a hotel.

But those working in low-risk countries in the Middle East, for example, will be disappointed that the exemption does not include them.

North-east Conservative MSP Liam Kerr accused the Scottish Government of treating many offshore oil sector employees as an “afterthought”.

Since February 15, those arriving in Scotland from outside the UK and Ireland have been required to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days at a cost of £1,750.

Trade union bosses and industry chiefs have raised concerns about the impact of the policy on the mental health and finances of thousands of oil and gas workers and family members.

Last week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she would consider reviewing the restrictions, but would apply “a very rigorous assessment”.

Ms Sturgeon warned that granting more exemptions would increase the possibility of new Covid-19 variants entering Scotland.

Kevin Stewart, Aberdeen Central SNP MSP, said the managed quarantine amendment would be welcome news to “so many people across Aberdeen”.

He said: “The Scottish Government has listened to lobbying from me, my colleagues and oil and gas workers and has rightly taken a considered approach on this matter as we have to do all that we can to stop new variants of the virus entering the country as far as possible.”

Aberdeenshire East SNP MSP Gillian Martin said: “I would like to thank the constituents of mine who got in touch about this issue which will affect many workers in the northeast who travel for work in the Norwegian sector.”

Mr Kerr said he was “glad” North Sea workers would be able to see their families “after a difficult period of not knowing”.

But he said those who work in other oil provinces and “face missing out on valuable time with their loved ones” still needed answers.

The UK Government’s rules, which are less strict, state that people arriving from any of 33 red-list countries must isolate in an approved hotel for 10 days, unless they have an exemption.

Aberdeen firm Stena Drilling last week launched a petition urging Westminster to grant a full exemption to oil workers returning from overseas.

The company has drilling operations in red-list countries such as Guyana and Suriname.

The petition has garnered almost 18,000 signatures.

Kevin Stewart, Aberdeen Central SNP MSP.