The Alex Salmond scandal refers to the political scandal in Scotland concerning the behaviour of former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and his successor, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.[1] The scandal created a feud within the Scottish National Party and a ministerial code investigation into Sturgeon conducted by James Hamilton concluded that she did not break the ministerial code over her conduct with Salmond.

The following is a timeline of events that happened in the Alex Salmond political scandal.

2017

  • Late 2017: The Scottish Government receives sexual harassment complaints against Salmond, concerning his behaviour while he was First Minister.[1]

2018

  • 29 March: Sturgeon meets with Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, in her office at Holyrood.[2][3]
  • 2 April: Salmond meets with Sturgeon at her private residence in Glasgow.[4]
  • 6 June: Sturgeon informs the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary, Leslie Evans, that she knows about the inquiry into harassment complaints and has discussed it with Salmond.[5]
  • 29 August: Salmond formally begins his judicial review of the government’s handling of harassment complaints against him. He also resigns his membership from the Scottish National Party amid allegations of sexual misconduct.[6][7]
  • 30 August: The Scottish Parliament establish the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints to investigate the Scottish Government’s handling of the affair.[1]
  • 31 August: Then senior counsel for the government, Roddy Dunlop QC, warns the government that the revelation that a senior official had previously met and briefed the two complainers was “extremely concerning”.[3][1]
  • 6 December: Leslie Evans is warned by Roddy Dunlop QC that Salmond’s legal challenge will “more likely than not succeed”.[3]
  • 31 December: Evans concedes the judicial review.[3]

2019

  • 8 January: The Court of Session, Scotland's supreme civil court, declares the inquiry unlawful on procedural grounds and Salmond is awarded £512,000 in legal costs.[8]
  • 13 January: Sturgeon refers herself to the independent ministerial ethics body after opposition parties raise concerns about her meetings with Salmond.[9]
  • 24 January: Police Scotland arrest Salmond, and he was charged with 14 offences, including two counts of attempted rape, nine of sexual assault, two of indecent assault, and one of breach of the peace.[10]

2020

  • 23 March: Salmond is cleared of all charges. A jury finds him not guilty of 12 charges, one charge was dropped by prosecutors earlier in the trial while one charge was found not proven.[11]
  • 8 December: Sturgeon's husband and Chief Executive of the SNP, Peter Murrell, gives his evidence to the Scottish Parliament's inquiry.[12]

2021

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Salmond and Sturgeon: What is the controversy all about?". BBC News. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Witnesses dispute Nicola Sturgeon account of meetings with Alex Salmond". The National. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Timeline: the major developments so far in the Sturgeon and Salmond affair". the Guardian. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Salmond affair: Government confirms Sturgeon had previously undisclosed meeting". HeraldScotland. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sturgeon told of Salmond allegations earlier than thought, inquiry told". the Guardian. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Ex-SNP leader Alex Salmond resigns from party". BBC News. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Alex Salmond resigns from SNP after sexual misconduct claims". the Guardian. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Alex Salmond receives £512,000 costs after 'botched investigation'". the Guardian. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon refers herself to ministerial watchdog over contact with Alex Salmond". The Independent. 13 January 2019. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ↑ Grafton-Green, Patrick; Tobin, Olivia (24 January 2019). "Ex-Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond charged with attempted rape". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Alex Salmond cleared of all sexual assault charges". BBC News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Alex Salmond inquiry likely to recall SNP chief exec and Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell". www.scotsman.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Salmond accuses Sturgeon of presiding over 'failures of leadership'". Financial Times. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Recap: Nicola Sturgeon gives crucial evidence to Salmond committee amid quit calls". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "MSPs on Alex Salmond committee say Nicola Sturgeon misled them". BBC News. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Douglas Ross calls for Nicola Sturgeon's resignation". uk.news.yahoo.com. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon cleared of breaching ministerial code". STV News. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon misled Scottish Parliament, says inquiry". POLITICO. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  19. ↑ "Sturgeon survives Holyrood confidence vote over Salmond row". BBC News. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  20. ↑ "Alex Salmond launches new independence-focused Alba party". the Guardian. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon wins 'historic' third term for the SNP in Scottish Parliament election". Holyrood Website. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  22. ↑ Davidson, Peter (8 May 2021). "Alex Salmond fails to win seat in election as voters reject ex-First Minister". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
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