Alex Salmond says Nicola Sturgeon faces ‘day of reckoning’ as he launches legal action
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Alex Salmond has warned Nicola Sturgeon she faces a “day of reckoning” as he launched legal action against the Scottish Government for its botched investigation of sexual misconduct claims against him.
The former first minister has lodged a petition at the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court, seeking “significant damages” and compensation for loss of earnings that could total millions of pounds.
He is alleging “malfeasance” by various former and current Scottish Government civil servants, with his lawyer arguing that they “conducted themselves improperly, in bad faith and beyond their powers, with the intention of injuring Mr Salmond”.
Among those named in the action are Ms Sturgeon, his successor as SNP leader and first minister, and Leslie Evans, the Scottish Government’s former permanent secretary.
Gordon Dangerfield, Mr Salmond’s lawyer, alleged that they had taken part “in the criminal leaking of confidential documents, the concealment of documents in defiance of court orders and a criminal warrant, the misleading of the court during judicial review proceedings, the soliciting of false criminal complaints, and ultimately the commission of perjury at a parliamentary inquiry”.
Mr Salmond won a judicial review in 2019 when the court found that the way the Scottish Government handled the investigation into the allegations against him was “tainted with apparent bias”.
The investigation started in early 2018, and a senior civil servant was appointed the investigating officer despite previously having contact with the two complainants.
The Scottish Government only conceded the judicial review case at the 11th hour, resulting in Mr Salmond being handed £512,250 of taxpayers’ money to cover his legal costs.
‘Tawdry business’
The former SNP leader was cleared of 14 sexual assault charges in a separate criminal trial in 2020.
He alleged at the time there was a conspiracy among senior SNP figures around Ms Sturgeon to imprison him.
Ms Sturgeon vigorously denied being part of a “cover-up” or “conspiracy”, although she admitted that the scandal had resulted “in the breakdown of a relationship that had been very important to me, politically and personally, for most of my life”.
A spokesperson for Ms Sturgeon said: “Nicola utterly refutes Salmond’s claims, as she has always done. She answered questions before a parliamentary committee for eight hours in 2021, and was also investigated and cleared by the independent advisor on the ministerial code.
“Salmond’s actions are a matter for him, and the conduct of the case is a matter for the Scottish Government.”
Unveiling his latest legal action, Mr Salmond said: “Throughout this tawdry business I have done my talking in court or in front of Parliament. That has resulted in victory in the Court of Session and being cleared of all charges in the High Court of Justiciary. I intend to continue with that practice.”
Despite his judicial review victory and a subsequent parliamentary inquiry that examined the conduct of Ms Sturgeon and Ms Evans, he said “not one single person has been held accountable. With this court action that evasion of responsibility ends.”
Mr Salmond said he had agreed to “sist”, or pause, his action for damages pending the outcome of a separate criminal investigation into alleged leaking of confidential information and perjury.
“However, the calling of the action signals that the day of reckoning for the Scottish Government’s record of misfeasance on this grand scale will inevitably come,” he concluded.
Mr Dangerfield alleged that “public officials decided at an early stage that Mr Salmond was to be found guilty of allegations against him, regardless of the actual facts”.
He claimed that this was done “for political reasons, and specifically to injure Mr Salmond” and accused the Scottish Government of concealing documents related to the case.
Handling of review ‘seriously flawed’
“A major aim of Mr Salmond in bringing this action is to obtain disclosure of this vital evidence and to blow apart the Scottish Government cover-up which has gone on now for far too long,” he said.
Mr Salmond contested a reported figure that suggested he is seeking £3 million in damages.
His spokesman said: “It will be for the court to determine damages once the case on misfeasance has been won. They will be significant.”
A damning Holyrood inquiry into the affair concluded that Ms Sturgeon misled parliament and her government “badly” let down the women who had lodged complaints.
The specially convened committee that conducted the investigation found in 2021 that the Scottish Government’s handling of the complaints and the judicial review was “seriously flawed”.
However, a separate inquiry by James Hamilton, an Irish lawyer, concluded that she had not broken the ministerial code of conduct.
Ms Evans also kept her job as the Scottish Government’s most senior civil servant, although she chose to resign from the post at the end of that year.
Speaking at a press conference at the British-Irish Council in Dublin, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Unsurprisingly to anyone listening or watching, the Scottish Government will defend its position robustly, but I’ll say no more because that’s a live case.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on live litigation.”
Ms Sturgeon was approached for comment.
