Alex Salmond's family vow to 'defend his name' in court

Alex Salmond's family are determined to "defend his name" in legal action against the Scottish government, his niece has said.

Christina Hendry also claimed there had been a conspiracy against her uncle, the former first minister and SNP leader, who was cleared at trial of 13 sexual offences in 2020.

When he died aged 69 last year, Salmond had been suing the Scottish government over a botched investigation into harassment complaints made about him. His widow Moira has since taken up the case.

Nicola Sturgeon, who succeeded Salmond as first minister, denied claims of a conspiracy in her new memoir, which was highly critical of her former mentor.

Salmond, who died of a heart attack in October 2024 while attending a conference in North Macedonia, was suing the government for misfeasance - a civil law term that means the wrongful exercise of lawful authority.

The former first minster had already successfully taken legal action against 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.

The Sunday Mail reported that his widow Moira had rectivated that claim after securing the support of wealthy backers.

In the 2020 criminal trial Salmond was cleared of all charges, including attempted rape, but his lawyer admitted in court that his client could "have been a better man."

Alex Salmond died of a heart attack in October last year

After leaving the SNP, Salmond set up the pro-independence Alba Party.

His niece, Hendry, has announced her intention to stand for the party in the north east at next year's Holyrood election.

She said the family was "most definitely united" in support of the legal action.

"We will continue to do anything we need to do to defend his name," she told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: "It would not be appropriate to comment on live litigation."

In her memoir, Sturgeon claimed that her predecessor was opposed to gay marriage and that he did not read the entirety of his government's white paper on Scottish independence, published before the 2014 referendum.

She has also discussed rumours that he had "consensual affairs".

Moira Salmond is continuing her late husband's legal action against the Scottish government

In an interview with the Scottish Sun, Hendry described Sturgeon's claims as "cruel" and said they had caused distress to the family.

She told Good Morning Scotland: "If my uncle was here today, these things would not be being said.

"I believe they are being said because he is not here to defend himself, as he would have done with every fibre of his being."

In her book, Sturgeon said the emergence of messages between women who made allegations against Salmond and SNP staff members was inaccurately "spun" by the Alba founder to suggest people had been "conspiring to bring him down".

Hendry said she believed people had conspired against her uncle.

She added: "I think the truth will still come out."

Hendry said she intended to stand for Alba in the north east to "honour" Salmond's legacy.

In July, Police Scotland said it would take no further action after investigating a historical sexual assault allegation against Salmond made after his death.

Many revelations in Nicola Sturgeon's book - released last week - focused on her former political mentor, Alex Salmond.

There were criticisms of his behaviour, accusations of excessive drinking, even suggestions he wasn't across the detail of his own policies.

Mr Salmond may no longer be here to defend himself, but his allies - not least his family - have taken up that cause.

And this appears to be going beyond hitting back at claims in the book. The family plan to continue with legal action against the Scottish government regarding how harassment claims against the former first minister were handled.

On top of all of this, Alex Salmond's niece appears to have political ambitions of her own.

All this serves as a reminder how significant a figure Salmond was in Scottish politics - arguments about his reputation and political legacy look set to rumble on for some time yet.

And the acrimonious split between Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor doesn't look like it'll fade from public view any time soon.