DON’T BE ALONE WITH SALMOND

Female staff were warned about contact with him at Bute House, government official tells High Court Woman tells trial the advice was issued after she had raised complaint about alleged sex assault

WOMEN were not allowed to be left alone with Alex Salmond after an alleged sex assault on a Scottish Government official, a court heard yesterday.

A woman, identified only as Ms G, said Salmond sexually assaulted her on two occasions – once in Glasgow and once at Bute House in Edinburgh.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard the first alleged assault took place at a restaurant in the West End of Glasgow.

The Scottish Government official claimed Salmond ‘smacked’ her buttocks.

She said that the second incident took place at Bute House.

Ms G told the court how senior civil servants implemented policies to help protect female staff after these incidents. When advocate depute Alex Prentice, QC, asked her exactly what changes had been introduced, she replied: ‘The specific change was that women were not to be left alone with Salmond in Bute House and he was not to receive any civil service private office support – I don’t recall whether it was after 7pm or 9pm – unless there was specific government business to attend to.’

The woman was giving evidence on the fourth day of proceedings against Salmond.

He is standing trial on two charges of indecent assault, ten charges of sexual assault, one charge of attempted rape and another charge of sexual assault with intent to rape.

Prosecutors claim the alleged assaults against Ms G took place in 2012 and 2014. On Thursday, Ms G told the court how she had gone for a meal with Salmond at a restaurant in Glasgow’s West End.

She said he ‘smacked’ her on the buttocks and she felt shocked by this, adding: ‘It felt demeaning.

‘It made me feel like I was a plaything to him.’

She told the court she confided in a colleague but decided not to pursue the matter further. Ms G said Salmond ‘just happened to be the most powerful person in the country’.

Ms G said that on the second occasion, she was told by Salmond to come back to Bute House one evening. She claimed she did so because he was not a person with whom you could disagree.

The woman told the court Salmond offered her shots of limoncello and she started to feel trapped and intimidated.

Ms G added: ‘He began to make some inappropriate comments to me. I started to feel like I had to leave.’

She claimed she told him she had to go and pretended to make her phone ring to make Salmond think somebody was expecting her. Ms G added: ‘He said, “What I would do to you if I were 26”.’ When Mr Prentice asked what she thought this meant, the witness replied: ‘I thought it meant he wanted to have sex with me and to have sexual relations with me.’

Ms G said that Salmond then put his arm around her, adding: ‘At that point, I started to feel panicked and he leaned in to kiss me.’

She said she did not give permission to Salmond to act in this way. Mr Prentice asked if she was frightened. Ms G replied: ‘Yes, I was frightened. It was at that moment I thought if I didn’t get out that something really serious was about to happen.’

She said she managed to get to the door and got away from him.

Ms G added: ‘He was frustrated and somewhat almost defeated and I said something along the lines of, “I’ve got to go”.’ The woman said she was supposed to go to work the following day but did not do so.

Ms G said that Salmond was out of order and she had been ‘extremely embarrassed’ and ‘felt confused because [she] hated him for what he had just done’.

Ms G also said that staff who worked for Salmond knew of his supposed bad temper.

She added: ‘I think there’s a lot of allowances made for Salmond because of his volatility.’

Gordon Jackson QC, representing Salmond, suggested the former First Minister was being ‘playful’ when he allegedly smacked her bottom.

She replied: ‘I think it was extremely inappropriate.’

Mr Jackson said such behaviour was considered to be ‘nothing’ at the time but attitudes had changed and were now to be considered ‘criminal’.

But she told the court Salmond’s behaviour caused working patterns to be changed at Bute House so that women could not be unaccompanied while with him.

Asked if at some stage Salmond put his arm around her, Ms G said: ‘Correct.’ Mr Jackson put it to her that this was ‘comforting’, and she replied: ‘No.’ She said she would describe it as having ‘romantic intentions’.

Mr Prentice also told the court that he expected to close his case soon.

He said: ‘I anticipate closing the Crown case perhaps in the early part of next week.’

‘It made me feel I was a plaything to him’