Sturgeon accused of acting like a dictator
First Minister is criticised over handling of Salmond allegations as she launches attack against former ally
Nicola Sturgeon has launched an astonishing attack on Alex Salmond after she was accused of behaving like a “tin-pot dictator” who risked bringing UK politics into worldwide disrepute. She accused her former mentor of inventing an “alternative reality” around claims of sexual assault and suggested it was his behaviour, rather than a grand conspiracy, that was at the root of allegations against him. She also denied attempting to censor some of Mr Salmond’s evidence.
NICOLA STURGEON has launched an astonishing attack on Alex Salmond after she was accused of behaving like a “tin-pot dictator” who risked bringing UK politics into worldwide disrepute.
The First Minister accused her former mentor of inventing an “alternative reality” around claims of sexual assault and suggested it was his behaviour towards women, rather than a grand conspiracy, that was the “root” of the allegations against him.
Ms Sturgeon was also yesterday forced to deny leaning on Scottish prosecutors to censor damning evidence put forward by Mr Salmond, following a fiasco that saw large chunks of his written testimony deleted.
The episode over the written evidence, which saw Holyrood quickly back down to the Crown Office – which is run by a member of Ms Sturgeon’s government – has been seen as a major humiliation for the legislature. It led to Mr Salmond pulling out of his longawaited evidence session at Holyrood, although he is now expected to appear tomorrow instead.
Liam Fox, the former trade secretary, raised fears that the conduct of Ms Sturgeon’s administration risked bringing the UK into “international disrepute”.
He cited Mr Salmond’s claim that there had been a “complete breakdown” in barriers between party, state and prosecutors in Scotland.
The EX-SNP leader has also alleged that the Crown Office wilfully misused legislation to withhold evidence from the Holyrood committee investigating the unlawful civil service probe against him, in a bid to protect “some of the most powerful people” in Scotland.
Raising a point of order in the House of Commons, Dr Fox said: “This would be damning in a tin-pot dictatorship, but this is happening in a part of the United Kingdom”. He asked: “Given that the Scottish Parliament derives its authority from legislation passed in this Parliament, what mechanisms do we have to ensure that the conduct of the Scottish Government does not bring politics in the whole of the United Kingdom into international disrepute?”
The Holyrood committee yesterday agreed to issue a “final invitation” to Mr Salmond to appear tomorrow, which he is expected to accept. MSPS will also launch a new legal bid to obtain files that
Mr Salmond says will back up his claims of a conspiracy. They will request correspondence between the four senior SNP figures, including Ms Sturgeon’s husband, that Mr Salmond alleges plotted against him. The correspondence was obtained by prosecutors ahead of his criminal trial, but the Crown Office has threatened Mr Salmond with prosecution if he discloses it.
Ahead of his appearance, Ms Sturgeon launched her strongest attack yet on the man who was once her closest ally.
Speaking at a press briefing in Edinburgh, she repeatedly criticised Mr Salmond for his failure to attend the committee on Wednesday, claiming there was “no good reason” why he should not have turned up.
Ms Sturgeon claimed there was not “a shred of evidence” to back up Mr Salmond’s conspiracy claims, and added that while Mr Salmond had been cleared of all charges at his criminal trial and was not guilty of criminality, that did not mean that the behaviour women alleged did not happen.
She said: “Alex Salmond [is] maybe creating an alternative reality in which the organs of the state, not just me and the SNP [but] the civil service and the
Crown Office and police and the women who came forward were all part of some wild conspiracy against him for reasons I can’t explain.” She added: “Maybe that’s easier than just accepting the root of all this might just have been issues in his own behaviour. But that’s for him to explain if he ever decides to pitch up and sit in front of the committee.”
‘This would be damning in a tin-pot dictatorship, but this is happening in a part of the United Kingdom’
‘What mechanisms do we have to ensure this does not bring politics in the UK into international disrepute?’
Mr Salmond was cleared of all 13 sex assault charges at his trial last year. The Holyrood committee is investigating the unlawful civil service probe into two allegations, not the separate criminal inquiry. Mr Salmond was approached by The Daily Telegraph for comment.