SALMOND CLEARED
Former First Minister not guilty of sex assaults after extraordinary trial Tells of nightmare ordeal – and vows he’ll disclose new evidence about case
ALEX Salmond was yesterday cleared of 13 charges of alleged sex crimes including attempted rape.
The verdicts came after an extraordinary 11-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Mr Salmond had faced allegations involving nine female former civil servants and Scottish Government workers. A reduced jury of eight women and five men returned verdicts yesterday of not guilty to 12 charges and one verdict of not proven.
In a statement outside court, Mr Salmond said evidence that had not been heard in court will ‘see the light of day’.
He said: ‘There is certain evidence that I would have liked to have seen led in this trial but for a variety of reasons we were not able to do so. Those facts will see the light – but it won’t be this day.’
The Mail can reveal that in pre-trial hearings, the former First Minister’s lawyer had lobbied judges for the right to present evidence about an alleged plot against Mr Salmond.
This involved claims that key Scottish Government and civil service figures launched a campaign against Mr Salmond, aimed at exaggerating allegations of sexual misconduct. These included Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans, who was said to have referred in a text message to a ‘war’ against Mr Salmond.
The defence was told it could not raise this evidence during the trial after the Crown argued it would be a ‘distraction’.
Nicola Sturgeon now faces three inquiries, including a parliamentary probe, into the Scottish Government’s handling of the internal complaints against Mr Salmond.
The jury, which took more than five hours to reach its decision, had been reduced from 15 members after two jurors dropped out for various reasons.
Mr Salmond, 65, thanked his supporters but said the trial was nothing compared
‘Evidence will see the light of day’
to the ‘nightmare every single one of us in this country is living through’ due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He referred to a judicial review he had launched against the Scottish Government investigation into handling of complaints against him – a probe which was later declared unlawful.
He said: ‘Just over a year ago when we finished civil action, judicial review, I said I had great faith in the courts system of Scotland – that faith has been much reinforced today.’
Mr Salmond was found not guilty of 12 sexual offence charges by a majority – including a charge of attempted rape.
The jury returned a not proven verdict by majority after Mr Salmond was accused of sexually assaulting a woman with intent to rape on an occasion in December 2013 at Bute House, Edinburgh. A not proven verdict has the same legal effect as an acquittal in the Scottish court system.
He was also found not guilty of sexually assaulting the same woman, known as Ms F, on an occasion between November and December 2013.
Mr Salmond thanked those who have sent him messages, his ‘brilliant’ legal team led by Gordon Jackson, QC, and court officials, who he said have been ‘courteous beyond limit’.
He had denied all the charges and, giving evidence, claimed some were ‘deliberate fabrications for a political purpose’.
The former SNP leader was first arrested and charged by Police Scotland in relation to the allegations in January 2019.
He led his party to an emphatic win in the 2011 Scottish parliament election, enabling the formation of a majority Government and paving the way for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
The result – a 55 per cent to 45 per cent vote to remain in the UK – led to his resignation, with his deputy, Miss Sturgeon, taking over as SNP leader and First Minister.
He returned to Westminster in 2015, when he was elected as MP for Gordon, standing down as an MSP at the 2016 Scottish election.
Appointed the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, he had a weekly radio phone-in show on LBC.
Mr Salmond lost his seat in the 2017 general election and carved out a career in the media, controversially hosting a talk show on RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and staging a sold-out chat show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
He resigned from the SNP in August 2018, days after sexual harassment allegations against him were first made public, saying he wanted to avoid divisions in the party. He won a civil case in January 2019 over how the sexual harassment allegations were dealt with by the Scottish Government and was arrested later the same month.
Following yesterday’s verdicts, Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘As we all know, Scotland is dealing with a much more severe challenge today than this high-profile court case. That said, there are now some very serious questions facing the SNP, the Scottish Government and Nicola Sturgeon.
‘The court case may be over but, for them, this is just the beginning.
‘Clearly, there is still a lack of information which needs to be fully interrogated, and the Scottish parliamentary inquiry will provide that opportunity.
‘This remains a national political scandal with profound questions of integrity for the First Minister and her SNP Government.
‘However, that opportunity must be deferred for the time being while all our efforts and resources concentrate on Covid-19.’
Scottish Labour equalities spokesman Pauline McNeill said: ‘The verdict of this trial does not take away from the serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s handling of this.
‘We would expect questions about this to be fully explored during parliamentary scrutiny of this.’
The court case followed a police investigation – Operation Diem – during which officers took nearly 400 statements.
It was run by a small group of officers – fewer than 20 – with the emphasis on preventing leaks, which it achieved. The female officer in charge – Detective Chief Superintendent Leslie Boal –
‘Serious questions facing the SNP’
described the probe as ‘thorough’ in giving evidence in the trial.
She was called as a defence witness and said she had not wanted a copy of the government investigation into Mr Salmond because she wanted to guard against
‘unconscious bias’. The probe was kept so tightly under wraps that when police Scotland confirmed it had arrested and charged Mr Salmond in January 2019, Miss Sturgeon claimed she had learned of the development from the media.
One police insider said: ‘It was a relatively straightforward operation in terms of what we deal with – nowhere on the scale of Lockerbie or some other cold case and organised crime investigations which are much wider in scope.
‘The key concern was limiting the spread of information – there were no leaks. The number of officers involved was in the teens. We couldn’t afford for any information to leak out and it didn’t.
‘The professionalism of the police investigation has been beyond question and if you want proof of the apolitical nature of policing, it’s the Salmond case – everyone is equal in the eyes of the law.’
police Scotland revealed officers were examining allegations against Salmond in August 2018, just as Iain Livingstone, then the force’s caretaker boss, prepared to take over as full-time Chief Constable.
Last night, a Crown Office spokesman said: ‘Scotland’s prosecutors deal with every case on its own individual facts and circumstances and take action where they assess there is sufficient admissible evidence that a crime has been committed and it is in the public interest to do so.
‘The Crown takes a rigorous approach to allegations of sexual offending and it will continue to support the complainers in these cases. Any decision on whether to convict or acquit an accused person is a matter for the jury.’
Last night, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The court has reached a verdict, a decision, and that must be respected. I am a strong believer in a rigorous, robust, independent judicial process where complaints of this nature – if they come forward – are properly and thoroughly investigated [and] due process takes its course and a court reaches a decision, and that’s what’s happened today.’
Asked how she felt about Mr Salmond, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘I didn’t hear the totality of the evidence.
‘What I would say in general though is I have no doubt there will be further discussion around this issue in due course, in the fullness of time and I will welcome that. But that time is not now.
‘This country faces a crisis right now, bigger than anything we have ever faced before and, as First Minister, my duty is to do everything I can and focus 100 per cent on steering us through that crisis. And that’s what I intend to do.’
Miss Boal said: ‘We note the verdict reached by the jury at the High Court in Edinburgh today.
‘police Scotland carried out a thorough investigation, reaching out to many people who worked for Alex Salmond during a sevenyear period and I would like to personally thank them. I’d particularly like to thank the nine women who gave evidence in court.’