Scottish Government confirms misconduct complaint against Alex Salmond dealt with in 2013

Mr Salmond is seeking a judicial review of the way the government handled two allegations of sexual misconduct made against him under a new complaints procedure on 16 and 24 January relating to his time as First Minister in 2013.

The two female civil servants were referred to in court as Complainer A and Complainer B.

Mr Salmond, 63, strongly denies harassment and criminality and says he was denied a fair chance to respond to the allegations.

The government previously denied there were any earlier recorded complaints against him.

In August, when it first emerged Mr Salmond had been investigated, a spokesman said: “There are no recorded complaints about Alex Salmond prior to January 2018.”

A month later, after a newspaper claimed a complaint had been resolved with an apology in December 2013, a spokesman for Nicola Sturgeon said the two complaints in January were “the only recorded complaints the Scottish Government has received about Mr Salmond”.

He added: “Prior to April of this year, the First Minister was not aware that complaints or concerns had been raised about Mr Salmond. And at no point were any complaints referred to the First Minister under the Fairness at Work policy when she was Deputy First Minister.”

However in court, Ronnie Clancy QC, for Mr Salmond, said the government now acknowledged one of the two January complaints had been raised in December 2013 and was resolved to “finality”.

He told judge Lord Pentland he had averments from the respondents - Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans and the Scottish Ministers - that “acknowledge that the issue was raised in some way and which acknowledge that finality was achieved at the time”.

But he said the government had yet to clear up whether the previous complaints procedure, known as the Fairness at Work procedure, has been applied.

Lord Pentland said that was surely a matter of fact which ought to be settled by agreement between the parties.

Christine O’Neill, for the Scottish Government, said she would take instruction on the matter and take the court’s observations on board.

She said Mr Salmond’s side had obtained three affidavits about this complaint, referred to as Complaint D, one from himself and two from other individuals.

She said that even if a complaint had been raised earlier, it would not mean a formal complaint could not be lodged subsequently, and argued the pre-formal complaint process was "essentially irrelevant" to the question of fairness.

Mr Clancy said he understood the government’s position to be that all it had to do was tell Mr Salmond “the gist” of the complaints against him.

Lord Pentland said lawyers for the government would argue those acting for Mr Salmond do not "have a relevant case as a matter of law", while the latter believe they were not given adequate information about the allegations.

A substantive hearing is due to start on January 15 and last four days.

Mr Salmond launched the legal action last August after Ms Evans told him she intended to make a public statement about her investigation into the January complaints.

Mr Salmond took early legal action in an attempt to stop any publicity around the case, but details emerged in the media regardless.

The government’s most senior law officer, the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, also advised the matter be referred to the police, who are conducting their own inquiry.

Following publicity around the complaints, Mr Salmond resigned from the SNP after 45 years as a member, 20 of them as the party’s leader.

He strongly criticised Ms Evans, who has been defended by Nicola Sturgeon.

Backed by £100,000 of donations to a crowdfunder appeal he linked to independence, Mr Salmond is now seeking a review of the way the complaint process was conducted.

Speaking to the media outside the Scottish Parliament later, Mr Salmond said: “I’m very content that we will get our opportunity to state our case.

“We’ve got four days of a hearing in January, and I’m very content that’s where we’ll do our talking, and that’s respectful to the court.”

He added: “We’ll do our talking in the Court of Session. That’s the right place for it to be done, and I’m pleased that we’re getting that opportunity.

“Four days in the Court of Session seems highly appropriate, so we’ll do our talking then.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "We dispute the statements from Mr Salmond’s counsel as to what happened in 2013 and we will set out our position in the full hearing.  

"We maintain our position that the complaints received in January 2018 were the only two recorded complaints about Mr Salmond.

"These could not be ignored or swept under the carpet and were investigated under the procedure agreed by the First Minister in December last year.”