Nicola Sturgeon says claims of plot against Alex Salmond are 'absurd'

Giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament committee into the handling of harassment complaints against the former First Minister, she said there is nothing the government has to hide.

The First Minister said it was an “absurd suggestion that anyone acted with malice or as part of a plot against Alex Salmond.” She said the “claim is not based in any fact”.

Sturgeon said she will “never forget” the moment she was made aware of the sexual harassment claims against Alex Salmond.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon at Salmond inquiry: 'I will never forget' being told of allegations

She said at a meeting in her home Alex Salmond asked her to read a letter sent to him by the Scottish Government’s permanent secretary, Leslie Evans, about the sexual harassment complaints made by two individuals.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon says Alex Salmond knew the names of complainers from his own knowledge

Sturgeon said: “Reading this letter is a moment in my life that I will never forget.” 

The details of the letter, she said, were “were significant and indeed shocking”.

Sturgeon said the meeting came about after Salmond’s former chief of Staff, Geoff Aberdein, had persuaded her at an earlier meeting to meet with the former First Minister as soon as possible.

She said he (Mr Aberdein) did mention “harassment-type” allegations but “he did so in general terms” and that he said Salmond might be “considering resigning his party membership”.

Giving evidence for more than six hours, she was quizzed on a number of issues by MSPs on the committee, including meeting Salmond, defending the judicial review and legal advice to the government and claims that names of complainers were passed to Mr Salmond’s representatives.

The First Minister said Salmond was not told the names at the meeting in her house on April 2 and that she did not accept his former Chief of Staff, Geoff Aberdein, was told the name of a complainant at an earlier meeting with a Scottish government official.

She said that Alex Salmond knew the name of one of the women because he recalled the incident and had already apologised to the woman.

And on the other, she said Salmond had gone through the Scottish Government Flickr account to check dates.

Jackie Baillie Labour MSP asked Sturgeon about the meeting between an official and Mr Aberdein and asked “who authorized the senior member of your team to reveal the name?”

Sturgeon said: “I’m not accepting that happened. This is a matter of contention. I dispute the premise of the question.”

Ms Baillie and Murdo Fraser, Conservative MSP both raised statements by Kevin Pringle, former SNP and Government adviser and Duncan Hamilton, Salmond’s lawyer, who both said Geoff Aberdein told them the name had been shared with him.

Sturgeon said:" I don’t know for certain but based on what Alex Salmond said to me on April 2. One of the complainants Alex Salmond was pretty clear he had found out through investigation on social media. The other, he knew about the incident because he apologised to the person.”

She said Kevin Pringle and Duncan Hamilton were not party to the discussion she added: “The two people who were party to it, Geoff Aberdein and the other person have two different accounts of the discussion.”

She said that Salmond had asked her to intervene and bring about mediation but she said, on reading the letter he had shown her, it was clear she couldn’t do that.

She defended the government investigation and that legal advice was followed up to when it was told it no longer had a stateable case.

She said: ”A number of women made complaints against Alex Salmond. The Government, despite the mistake it undoubtedly made, tried to do the right thing.

“As First Minister I refused to follow the age-old pattern of allowing a powerful man to use his status and connections to get what he wants.”

Addressing Mr Salmond’s committee evidence on Friday, Ms Sturgeon said: “That he was acquitted by a jury of criminal conduct is beyond question. 

"But I know, from what he told me, that his behaviour was not always appropriate.”