Alex Salmond: Police to take no action over sexual assault claim
In November, Police Scotland confirmed it had received a report of "a non-recent sexual assault".In an updated statement, the force said an investigation had been carried out and that "no further action will be taken".
Salmond stepped down as first minister and SNP leader in 2014, ultimately setting up the pro-independence Alba Party in 2021. His latter years were dominated by claims and counter claims about his conduct. In 2019, Salmond successfully sued the Scottish government, led by his former protégé Nicola Sturgeon, for its handling of an investigation into complaints of sexual harassment made against him. He was awarded £500,000 after the inquiry was ruled to be "tainted with apparent bias".The former first minister was subsequently charged with 13 sexual offences, including attempted rape, but was acquitted on all counts after the 2020 trial.The women who made the allegations against the ex-SNP leader - which dated back to his time as first minister - included an SNP politician, a party worker and several Scottish government officials.
'Sleepy cuddle'
During his evidence to the court, Salmond said he had a "sleepy cuddle" with one complainer in his official residence.However, he described the claims made about his alleged conduct as "deliberate fabrications for a political purpose" or "exaggerations".Salmond's lawyer told the court the former first minister "could certainly have been a better man" but had not committed any crimes.He said that his client had sometimes behaved badly, calling him "touchy-feely".A Holyrood inquiry into the government's handling of complaints against Salmond found Sturgeon had misled MSPs over a meeting with her predecessor in her home in 2018, but cleared her of breaching the ministerial code.Following the trial, Salmond repeatedly claimed that many in his former party had colluded against him in an effort to block his return to frontline politics.
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