Nicola Sturgeon's claim Alex Salmond may have leaked harassment details 'defies comprehension'
Former MSP Andy Wightman called the suggestion ‘irresponsible and misleading’
Nicola Sturgeon's suggestion that Alex Salmond may have leaked details about an investigation into sexual misconduct claims made against him to the media "defies comprehension", a former member of a key Holyrood committee has said.
Andy Wightman said the decision by Ms Sturgeon, the former first minister, to publish such speculation was "irresponsible and misleading".
Mr Wightman sat on the Holyrood committee that examined the Scottish Government's botched handling of sexual harassment allegations made against Mr Salmond by two female civil servants in 2018.
It found the handling of the complaints was "seriously flawed", and concluded Ms Sturgeon had misled its inquiry in her evidence, although SNP MSPs on the committee did not support this finding.
The Scottish Government paid out more than £500,000 in legal costs to Mr Salmond after admitting to acting unlawfully when investigating the harassment claims. He was later cleared of multiple sexual assault allegations following a trial in 2020.
In her memoir, Ms Sturgeon suggests Mr Salmond himself, or someone acting on his behalf, may have leaked details of the Government’s initial probe to the Daily Record in 2018.
“It takes a lot of gumption and a gambler’s instinct to behave in such a way, but the basic thinking is not complicated,” she writes.
“If there is damaging information certain to emerge about you and there is nothing you can do to stop it, get it out in a way that gives you the best chance of controlling the narrative.
“I have no evidence to substantiate any allegation that it was him. I am merely speculating. Regardless of who was responsible, though, there is no doubt that it was Alex who benefited. At a stroke, he was able to cast himself as the victim of underhand dealing.”
In a blog post, Mr Wightman, a former Green MSP who later sat as an independent, called the claim “highly misleading, speculative and partial”. He said: “If Sturgeon’s claims are to be believed, Salmond himself leaked the report after having sought an interdict to prevent publication of [a] statement by the Scottish Government. Why on earth would he do that?”
Mr Wightman pointed out Mr Salmond later complained to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and asked for a review when it was unable to pinpoint any individual responsible for the leak, again querying why he would do this if he was the source.
“The evidence as to who leaked this report suggests very strongly that it came from an employee of the Scottish Government,” Mr Wightman wrote. The ICO noted it had “sympathy with the hypothesis that the leak came from an employee of the SG”.
Mr Wightman added: “It is beyond the most fantastical imagination to even speculate that Alex Salmond was responsible for leaking the investigation report to the Daily Record. To publish such speculation about a dead person and say nothing about the likelihood that it actually happened is irresponsible and misleading.”
Speaking to The Scotsman after an appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Mr Wightman, who was a Lothian MSP from 2016 to 2021, said: “That’s the first time I’ve ever read from anybody any suggestion that Alex Salmond might have been responsible for leaking that report. It defies comprehension.”
David Clegg, the journalist who broke the story, has also dismissed the idea Mr Salmond leaked the information, but said he did not know the source of the leak.
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