Nicola Sturgeon: 'Alex Salmond is not sexist' after 'Benny Hill' joke

Nicola Sturgeon has defended her predecessor Alex Salmond over a joke he made during his Edinburgh fringe festival show.

The former first minister has been accused of sexism over the innuendo, which mentioned Ms Sturgeon as well as Prime Minister Theresa May, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and First Lady Melania Trump.

However, Ms Sturgeon insisted that "Alex Salmond is not sexist", saying "I think I would know if he was sexist, and emphatically he is not".

She added: "Occasionally Alex is not as funny as he thinks he is, and perhaps this is an example of a joke which belongs more in the Benny Hill era than in the modern era."