Claims Sturgeon adviser spoke of 'getting' Salmond

Alex Salmond has given a new submission to a Holyrood inquiry

A claim has emerged from Alex Salmond saying a Scottish government adviser spoke of "getting" him in a criminal court case just before its own investigation into harassment claims was deemed unlawful.

His comments come in a new written submission to the Holyrood inquiry into the handling of the claims.

He also called the government's behaviour in the affair "a disgrace".

The Scottish government would not comment on an unseen submission.

Mr Salmond was acquitted of sexual assault charges in a criminal trial in March 2020.

The committee on the Scottish government handling of harassment complaints was set up after a judicial review court case where the Scottish government admitted its internal investigation of two harassment complaints against Mr Salmond had been unlawful.

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The government had to pay out more than £500,000 in legal expenses to the former first minister, who was later cleared of 13 charges of sexual assault by a criminal court.

Mr Salmond has now made a written submission to the inquiry, ahead of an expected appearance later this month.

'A disgrace'

In the submission, first reported by The Times and seen by the BBC, Mr Salmond states: "During November 2018 we became concerned about the possibility of the government attempting to sist (delay) the judicial review and (mindful of their likely loss in court) seek to emphasise instead the police investigation.

"We have a witness precognition (statement) which recounts that in late November 2018 a special adviser told the witness that the government knew they would lose the JR but that they would "get him" in the criminal case."

In his conclusion, Mr Salmond said: "The behaviour of the government was, in my view, a disgrace. But actions have consequences.

"Accountability is at the heart of the Scottish Parliament. The rule of law requires that those who have acted illegally are held to account. It is now the job of this committee to resolve how that is best done".

The two first ministers have been at odds over what Ms Sturgeon knew about the complaints against Mr Salmond, and when

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "We can't comment on a submission that we haven't seen and that the committee has not yet published.

"The committee has received both written and oral evidence, including from the Lord Advocate, explaining clearly the legal position taken by the Scottish government throughout the judicial review.

"As the Lord Advocate set out in his evidence, when the judicial review was first raised the Scottish government was satisfied that it could answer all of the grounds raised by Mr Salmond in the judicial review."

The spokeswoman added: "The issue on which the case was ultimately conceded only emerged over time from late October into December.

"The case was conceded as quickly as possible once it became clear that it could no longer be defended on the single ground of perceived bias."

On Friday, the Crown Office confirmed that it had handed over evidence to the Holyrood inquiry following an unprecedented move by MSPs to use legal powers to seek documents from the prosecution service.

Mr Salmond looks set to appear before the inquiry on 9 February, while his successor as first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is expected to give evidence the following week.