The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon has spoken following the verdict in the Alex Salmond trial.

She said: “The court has reached a verdict and that must be respected. I am a strong believer in a vigorous, robust, independent judicial process where complaints of this nature, if they come forward, are properly and thoroughly investigated, due process takes its course and a court reaches a decision, and that’s what has happened today.

“I have no doubt that there will be further discussion around this issue in due course, in the fullness of time – and I will welcome that. But that time is not now. This country faces a crisis right now bigger than anything we have faced before and as First Minister my duty to the public is to do everything I can to focus 100 per cent on steering us through that crisis, and that is what I intend to do.”