Salmond’s fury at ‘Inspector Murrell’ and his messages
NICOLA Sturgeon’s husband and other senior SNP figures tried to pressurise police and witnesses, Alex Salmond has claimed.
The former SNP leader was asked about messages where Peter Murrell had suggested it would be a ‘good time’ to encourage police about charges against Mr Salmond.
He attacked the SNP chief executive for intervening in the issue and mocked his efforts by dubbing him ‘Inspector Murrell’. He recounted ‘one of the most extraordinary days of my life’ when he went through messages on a memory stick given to his legal team by the Crown Office last year.
Mr Salmond said the messages he has seen ‘speak to behaviour which I would never have countenanced from people I’ve known in some cases for 30 years’.
He said: ‘In my opinion, there has been behaviour which is about not just pressurising the police, like the one you’ve read out, but pressurising witnesses, collusion with witnesses.
‘We’re talking about the construction of evidence because the police somehow were felt to be inadequate in finding it themselves.
‘And the point about this is that on August 25, 2018, I think it was, a police investigation started. When a police investigation starts, these matters are for the police...
‘They don’t need assistance from Inspector Murrell or Sergeant Ruddick [Sue Ruddick, SNP chief operating officer], Constable McCann [Ian McCann, SNP compliance officer], or Special Constable Allison [Barbara Allison, government director of comadmitted munications].’ Last night the committee issued a notice under the Scotland Act on the Crown Office, urging officials to provide all correspondence it holds – including text messages – relating to the affair.
They are seeking communications between Mr Murrell, the First Minister’s chief of staff Liz Lloyd, and senior SNP staffers Mr McCann and Miss Ruddick.
It is understood Mr Salmond believes there are messages which prove his claims over a plot to damage his reputation.
Mr Salmond said due to fears of prosecution he could not describe the messages in detail or reveal their content.
During the committee, MSPs heard of messages that are currently in the public domain referencing getting complainants ‘back in the game’ and another discussing the gathering of evidence.
On the messages sent by SNP figures, Mr Salmond said: ‘When a police investigation starts, all other activity should stop. It’s not for the SNP or the Scottish Government to supplant the police in their investigatory function.
‘It’s for everyone to accept that is the due process of law and should be allowed to continue without impediment.’
Mr Salmond also said that in the criminal trial his legal counsel read out a message from a complainant refusing to go to a meeting with a senior official because she was beginning to feel pressurised rather than supported.
He said: ‘On Sky television I have seen an account of a text message of the importance of getting another complainant “back in the game” from Ms Ruddick.’
Mr Salmond said he had also seen a text message in the public domain that said: ‘If the police can’t find the evidence’ then the person should ask ‘what they need and I’ll get it for them’.
He added: ‘There is much more evidence that I would dearly love to provide to this committee if I wasn’t under an injunction.’
The texts were sent in the days after Mr Salmond appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January 2019 on sex assault charges. He was later found not guilty. Mr Murrell has sending the messages in evidence submitted to the inquiry but refused to answer detailed questions about them when he appeared in person.
They were made public after being passed anonymously to East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill.
The first text said: ‘Totally agree folk should be asking the police questions... report now with the PF on charges which leaves police twiddling their thumbs. So good time to be pressurising them. Would be good to know Met looking at events in London.’
The second message stated: ‘TBH the more fronts he is having to firefight on the better for all complainers. So CPS action would be a good thing.’
Both messages were sent to a senior SNP employee.
Mr Salmond told the committee they should also serve an order on his solicitors Levy & McRae.
He said the evidence he obtained ahead of his criminal trial would be with them by Monday morning.
‘Construction of evidence’ ‘Folk should be asking questions’