Alex Salmond is launching a fresh legal action against the Scottish government over its botched handling of sexual harassment complaints against him.
Following a report in the Herald on Friday morning, the former Scottish National party leader and first minister released a statement in which he said “not one single person has been held accountable” for how the harassment inquiry was conducted, despite a judicial review in 2019 ruling it was unlawful and “tainted by apparent bias”.
Salmond, who is now leader of the Alba party, added that “with this court action, that evasion of responsibility ends”, saying that “the day of reckoning” for the Scottish government “will inevitably come”.
Salmond’s lawyer, Gordon Dangerfield, said: “This is an action of misfeasance [wrongful exercise of lawful authority] in public office in which we aver that public officials of the Scottish government conducted themselves improperly, in bad faith and beyond their powers, with the intention of injuring Mr Salmond.”
Dangerfield claimed that the Scottish government had refused to disclose documents relevant to the case despite repeated requests over the past year, and that a key aim of the action was “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”.
Salmond, 68, was separately acquitted of 14 charges of sexual assault, including one of attempted rape and charges based on the original complaints, after a criminal trial in Edinburgh in March 2020.
Salmond and his supporters have claimed repeatedly that the charges resulted from a conspiracy driven by figures close to his successor as first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
Those officials and ministers named in the action include Sturgeon, Leslie Evans, the Scottish government’s former permanent secretary, , and Liz Lloyd, previously Sturgeon’s chief of staff.
Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, asked about the action in Dublin, where he was attending a meeting of the British-Irish Council, said it was not appropriate to comment on live litigation. All he could say was that the Scottish government would “defend its position robustly”.
A spokesperson for 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 adviser 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.”
A spokesperson for Salmond said they expected the damages awarded in such an action, if successful, to be “significant”.
Salmond also confirmed that his civil action would be paused to allow the criminal investigations into alleged leaking and perjury at his criminal trial to be completed.
Police Scotland said inquiries into the alleged leaks were “ongoing” while the Crown Office said it was considering correspondence from Salmond’s lawyers.
Salmond has long threatened further action after he successfully challenged the Scottish government over its handling of the original allegations made against him by two female civil servants in early 2018.
Those initial complaints were upheld by an internal government investigation but this was struck out by a judicial review in 2019, which found it had been unlawful on procedural grounds and awarded Salmond £512,250 in legal costs.
The judicial review resulted in a parliamentary inquiry in the spring of 2021 into the handling of the complaints and the judicial review. Its final report highlighted “serious flaws” in the process that had let down the two original complainants. It stopped short of calling for Evans to quit but said “those responsible should be held accountable”.
In a separate investigation concurrent with that inquiry, Sturgeon was cleared of breaching the ministerial code over her dealings with Salmond.
Since the trial, a number of the women who made complaints against Salmond have described their vilification on social media and fears for their personal safety, while dismissing claims by Salmond and his supporters that the charges came from a conspiracy driven by figures close to Sturgeon.
Salmond admitted in his own evidence at trial that he should have been “more careful with people’s personal space”, and acknowledged having a “sleepy cuddle” with one complainant, though he successfully argued against the claims made against him.
Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “In the course of his trial for sexual assault and attempted rape, Mr Salmond admitted to a series of very serious and troubling behaviours including inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.
“On several occasions throughout his trial, Mr Salmond and his defence team described his behaviour as being highly inappropriate and abusive of his position of power.
“In remarks from his defence, Mr Salmond was described as ‘touchy feely’ and Mr Salmond’s own defence QC reportedly described him as a bully and a ‘sex pest’. This type of behaviour towards women has no place in politics or in any workplace.”
