Nicola Sturgeon reads out private Alex Salmond messages to dispel 'conspiracy' theories
She says it is an "age-old" issue of "man accused of misconduct against woman" with a woman who "ends up answering for them".
Monday 12 October 2020 08:41, UK
Nicola Sturgeon has read out a message exchange with Alex Salmond live on Sky News in a bid to prove she did not "cover up" serious allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
Mr Salmond was cleared in court earlier this year of 13 sexual assault charges.
The Scottish first minister denied she was withholding evidence from an inquiry examining the government's handling of an investigation into her predecessor's behaviour.
She told Sky News she understood that it was better for for people to think "there was a big conspiracy against him".
And in comments that will turn up the heat on an already tense row with her friend and mentor of 30 years, said the problem was "age-old".
She explained it was a case of "man accused of misconduct against a woman" with a woman who then "ends up answering for them".
In response, a source close to Mr Salmond - who was at the High Court in Edinburgh in March 2020 - has told Sky News he is not angry with her, but "astonished at the ever shifting sands of her story".
An investigation is now under way by the Scottish Parliament into the government's handling of the complaints against Mr Salmond, who was later awarded £500,000 in legal costs after the government admitted in court that the inquiry had not been conducted properly.
Asked on Sophy Ridge On Sunday about a report that allies of Mr Salmond claimed Ms Sturgeon was withholding some messages from evidence, she said she had "nothing to hide".
She said she messaged him on 5 November (understood to be 2017) in response to a Sky News query about his conduct, asking: "Hi, when are you free to speak this morning?"
He replied "10am", she continued.
Ms Sturgeon said she followed it up with an "any developments?" message later and then another asking "you free for a word?" the following day.
"So, I'm setting up a conversation that I have told the parliamentary inquiry about, it's hardly a big revelation," she told Sky News.
She added: "I can understand why people in my party might want an alternative explanation for all of this… At every stage I have tried to do the right thing and not cover it up.
"I think the reasons perhaps why he is angry with me - and he clearly is angry with me - is that I didn't cover it up. I didn't collude with him to make these allegations go away.
"Perhaps that is at the root of why he is as annoyed as he appears to be."
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And Ms Sturgeon added: "From what I've read on the committee's website, one person who hasn't put forward evidence to the inquiry yet is Mr Salmond himself. I have, the Scottish government has, so we will continue to be cooperative and do what the committee asks of us."
Ratcheting up the feud, Mr Salmond responded: ''I have made no public comment since I was acquitted of all charges in the High Court in March and have made it clear that the first time I will comment is in front of the Parliamentary Committee.
"This committee was established to inquire into the conduct of the First Minister, her special advisers and civil servants after her government's behaviour was found to be 'unlawful', 'unfair' and 'tainted by apparent bias' and at enormous cost to the public purse."
He has previously called the legal action against him a "nightmare" and thanked his friends and family for "standing by me over the last two years". Mr Salmond has always denied any form of misconduct.
Continuing to hit back, the source close to Mr Salmond said: "Her claims of an attempted "collusion" are not only untrue but unsupported by the written evidence and directly contradicted by her own previous parliamentary statements. She claims to have 'nothing to hide'. That is not the impression she is giving."
The source went on to say that "there is little point in the First Minister pledging full support for and co-operation with a committee, the remit of which is to consider and report on her actions and that of her government, only for her to complain about the inevitable scrutiny that involves".
And they added: "The First Minister claims to be entirely focussed on a health pandemic where people are still dying but is lashing out on television about matters which should properly be dealt with in front of the Parliamentary Committee established for that very purpose."