Police take no action over Alex Salmond complaint

Alex Salmond's latter years were dominated by claims and counter claims about his conduct

Police Scotland has said it will take no further action after investigating a historical sexual assault allegation against Alex Salmond.

The complaint was made last year following the former first minister's death, aged 69.

In March 2020, Salmond was cleared after a two-week trial at the High Court in Edinburgh of 13 sexual offence charges, including attempted rape.

The Alba Party founder and ex-SNP leader died of a heart attack while attending a conference in North Macedonia in October 2024.

The police announcement was followed by confirmation that Salmond's family is continuing legal action seeking damages and loss of earnings from the Scottish government over its handling of harassment complaints against him.

In November, Police Scotland confirmed it had received a report of "a non-recent sexual assault".

In an updated statement, the force said an investigation had been carried out and that "no further action will be taken".

At the time of his death Salmond was in the process of legal action against Scottish government over a botched investigation into harassment complaints made about him.

He sued the government for misfeasance – a civil law term that means the wrongful exercise of lawful authority.

The former first minster had already successfully sued the government in 2019 over its mishandling of complaints against him, with the probe ruled to be "tainted with apparent bias".

He was awarded £500,000 in costs for that case but was seeking a reported £3m in damages and loss of earnings with the fresh legal claim.

Following Salmond's death, the Alba Party confirmed the case had been taken up by his family.

A Scottish government spokesperson said it would "not be appropriate to comment on live legal proceedings".

Alex Salmond successfully sued Nicola Sturgeon's government in 2019

Salmond stepped down as first minister and SNP leader in 2014, ultimately setting up the pro-independence Alba Party in 2021.

His latter years were dominated by claims and counter claims about his conduct.

The former first minister was charged with 13 sexual offences, including attempted rape, but was acquitted on all counts after the 2020 trial.

The women who made the allegations against the ex-SNP leader - which dated back to his time as first minister - included an SNP politician, a party worker and several Scottish government officials.

'Sleepy cuddle'

During his evidence to the court, Salmond said he had a "sleepy cuddle" with one complainer in his official residence.

However, he described the claims made about his alleged conduct as "deliberate fabrications for a political purpose" or "exaggerations".

Salmond's lawyer told the court the former first minister "could certainly have been a better man" but had not committed any crimes.

He said that his client had sometimes behaved badly, calling him "touchy-feely".

A Holyrood inquiry into the government's handling of complaints against Salmond found Sturgeon had misled MSPs over a meeting with her predecessor in her home in 2018, but cleared her of breaching the ministerial code.

Following the trial, Salmond repeatedly claimed that many in his former party had colluded against him in an effort to block his return to frontline politics.

Alba party leader Kenny MacAskill said Salmond had been "vindicated by the highest civil court in Scotland and acquitted by a jury in the highest criminal court in the land".

He added: "These outcomes speak for themselves and must not be ignored or diminished."