‘My heart sort of stopped’: Women recall Salmond verdict for documentary
of the women who accused Alex Salmond of a series of sexual offences has told how her “heart stopped” as the not-guilty verdicts were announced.
Speaking on television for the first time about the trial, another woman said she burst into tears as he was cleared of all charges, describing it as like being “punched in the stomach”. The women’s experiences are due to be aired tonight in a BBC documentary about the trial, which also hears from Mr Salmond’s supporters and colleagues.
In March this year, the former first minister was cleared of all 13 charges levelled by nine women after a three-week trial at Edinburgh’s High Court.
He had been accused of ten sexual assaults – including one with intent to rape – two indecent assaults and one attempted rape, all said to have taken place while he was running Scotland.
Tomorrow a Holyrood committee examining how the Scottish Government botched a separate investigation into claims of sexual harassment is due to begin taking evidence. Mr Salmond, who has always denied the allegations, is expected to appear in front of MSPS at some stage in their inquiry to give his side of the story. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is also earmarked to give evidence,
In the documentary, The Trial of Alex Salmond, some of the women who gave evidence against him in the criminal trial talk about their reactions to its outcome.
“With each not-guilty verdict that came out my heart sort of stopped,” one says.
“I don’t know why, but I thought it would be different for mine – I know what hapone pened – and then it wasn’t. I was in absolute shock.”
Another woman remembers standing against a wall and sliding closer to the ground with each verdict.
“By the end of it I was just crying on the floor,” she tells the programme. “It was just like being punched in the stomach.”
Mr Salmond, who is not interviewed in the programme, declined to comment yesterday.