The Trial of Alex Salmond
BBC TWO, 9.00PM
Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond is a man on whom everyone has an opinion. Some admire him as a dynamic, charismatic leader who took Scotland to the brink of independence; others see an arrogant powermonger, lost without an audience. Last spring, he was acquitted in court of all charges when 10 women accused him of a total of 14 sexual offences. It was by any standards a sensational trial, arguably the first of the Metoo era in this country, and one which gripped Kirsty Wark from start to finish.
Careful not to express any opinions on the man herself, in this one-off documentary she canvasses the views of Salmond’s close friends and sworn foes alike, as well as talking to three of the women who brought the charges, while director Sarah Howitt tracks the progress of the trial. Even his defence lawyer was moved to comment that Salmond “certainly could have been a better man”, while rumours of conspiracies to bring him down reflect almost equally poorly on the party he once led. But the last word is left to one of his accusers: “I’m worried about what this says more widely to other women, or just to us as a society… Where does this leave us?”