Calls for police probe into 'SNP plot' to bring down Alex Salmond as messages revealed
Messages published on Sunday are said to show high-ranking SNP officials ‘conspiring’ against the former first minister.
Newly-published text messages have been alleged to show ‘a plot’ at the heart of the SNP to bring down Alex Salmond.
The party is now facing demands for a police probe after messages were said to demonstrate high-ranking SNP officials conspiring against the former first minister.
These messages, sent between September 2018 and January 2019 when a government misconduct probe against Salmond collapsed, had previously been put before a court but never published publicly, according to the Sunday Mail.
Mr Salmond was cleared of 13 charges in March 2020. Immediately after he was cleared, he claimed there had been “deliberate fabrications for a political purpose”.
In a pre-trial court hearing Salmond’s defence lawyer Gordon Jackson KC told Lady Dorrian there had been texts between complainants, government officials and SNP members, and he tried to get some of this material admitted to evidence as he believed “there was a concerted effort made by people in the government to influence the process, to get it as best they could in terms of criminal prosecution”.
The messages reveal that senior figures privately doubted some of the experiences amounted to criminal investigations.
In a WhatsApp exchange, one woman was asked if she had “an Alex story”, and she said: “If I do I don't remember - wandering hands, some shouting, but not really … I think I wasn’t his type.”
Another said: “How have they got my name? Must be ****. I’ll kill her.”
After the news that Mr Salmond had been charged in January 2019, another said: “Police say mine not on list as. It enough evidence (sic). Yet. Felt like asking what they need and I’ll get it for them!”
Another woman said: “I speak for myself here - I don’t think what happened to me would constitute an offence.”
Another said: “Tbh, what happened to me didn’t particularly bother me at the time but I felt it was important to back up the others.”
In response to this, a senior SNP figure said: “Yeah I’m in the same boat in terms of backing others.”
On the day Salmond was charged, one said: “He is going to jail. And I’m ******* glad … was considering briefing the media … good move by police to do this now then we are protected by contempt of court.”
Another said: “Jeez. Think **** is in trouble … Salmond isn’t going to stop until he gets her and he’s bringing down Nicola.”
In one exchange, compliance officer Ian McCann and chief operating officer Sue Ruddick discuss attempting to find potential victims, and appear disappointed that someone who said they could deliver “five folk by the end of that week” had “overreached”.
McCann said: “I think one other said to her that she would. But didn’t … or at least, not yet.”
In January 2019, Ruddick told McCann she hoped one of the five complainers would be “sickened enough to get back in the game” after Salmond won his court challenge against the Scottish Government’s investigation.
In one message, a senior SNP figure refers to convening a “council of war” and in another Ruddick writes to Peter Murrell: “**** seems up for the fight. Keen to see him go to jail.”
Murrell is the SNP’s former chief executive and former partner of Nicola Sturgeon.
In response to this message, Murrell said: “Ian has just returned from his chat with ****. Forgot to ask if she knew any of the charges involved her or indeed whether OK for us to pass her complaint to us over to police. All in all he’s p****** me off with his attitude.”
Allies of Salmond are now calling for a criminal investigation into the alleged plot to be opened, even going as far as to suggest a public inquiry be launched.
Fergus Ewing, who has since left the SNP and is now standing in the upcoming election as an independent candidate, said: “These revelations are both shocking and devastating.
"They appear to show several individuals were not only determined to destroy Alex Salmond but to connive and conspire against him.
“I shall therefore write to the Lord Advocate with a copy of this Sunday Mail expose, urging her to instruct a full investigation into whether there has been a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.”
Kenny MacAskill, who took over from Salmond as leader of the now defunct Alba Party, said: “I’ve always believed that individuals at the heart of the SNP and Scottish Government conspired to bring Alex down because they were worried he was going to make a return to Holyrood.
“These messages confirm my suspicions.
“There should be a police inquiry and public inquiry into the entire affair, it strikes at the heart of our democracy.”
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “These issues, including the question of WhatsApps between women, have been examined and re-examined repeatedly over the last seven years.
“It is vital that all those who report bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault wherever it takes place are supported to do so, and we must ensure that Scotland is a place in whichepople can challenge and report these behaviours without hesitation or fear.
“The SNP’s focus is on continuing to deliver for the people of Scotland with our ambitious plan to tackle the cost-of-living, improve our public services like the NHS, and deliver the fresh start of independence.”