Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal

Alex Salmond scandal
Former First Minister Alex Salmond and his successor Nicola Sturgeon were at the centre of the political scandal.
Events
List Premiership of Nicola Sturgeon Internal investigation Judicial review HM Advocate v Salmond Hamilton inquiry Scottish Parliament Committee 2021 Scottish Parliament election Timeline of the Alex Salmond scandal
People
Scottish Government First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Deputy First Minster John Swinney Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans
Scottish Parliament Committee Convenor Linda Fabiani (SNP) Margaret Mitchell (Conservative Party) Alasdair Allan (SNP) Jackie Baillie (Labour) Alex Cole-Hamilton (Liberal Democrats) Murdo Fraser (Conservative) Alison Johnstone (Green) Stuart McMillan (SNP) Maureen Watt (SNP)
Scottish National Party Peter Murrell
Judiciary James Hamilton QC Elish Angiolini QC Lady Dorrian Gordon Jackson Shelagh McCall Alex Prentice
Related Alex Salmond
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This article is part of a series about Alex Salmond
Political positions Scottish independence Social nationalism Electoral History MP for Banff and Buchan MSP for Banff and Buchan MSP for Aberdeenshire East MP for Gordon Leader of the SNP (1990–2000; 2004–2014) 1990 leadership election 1997 referendum 1999 election 2004 leadership election First Minister of Scotland (2007–2014) Premiership International visits First Ministry 2007 election Free Tuition Fees Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's Release Glasgow Airport attack Second Ministry 2011 election 2014 European election 2014 referendum Resignation Post Premiership Sexual harassment scandal Leader of the Alba Party (2021–2024) 2021 election Indyref2 UK general elections 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2015 2017
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This article is part of a series about Nicola Sturgeon
Political positions Electoral history MSP for Glasgow MSP for Glasgow Southside Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2004–2014) Salmond Ministry 2004 deputy leadership election Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Tobacco sale restrictions Minimum unit pricing Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities Independence referendum Votes at 16 2014 Scottish independence referendum Leader of the SNP (2014–2023) 2014 leadership election First Minister of Scotland (2014–2023) Premiership International visits First Ministry Revenue Scotland LBTT SLfT Community right to buy Second Ministry 2016 election Proposed second independence referendum Brexit referendum People's Vote Social Security Scotland Scottish National Investment Bank Alex Salmond scandal COVID-19 pandemic Third Ministry 2021 election Bute House Agreement COP26 Ferry fiasco Operation Branchform Cost of living crisis Bin worker strikes ScotRail strikes 2023 proposed referendum 2022 Supreme Court referral Gender reform bill Resignation 2023 leadership election UK General elections 2015 2017 2019
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The Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal was a political scandal in Scotland concerning the alleged conduct of former First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond, and the investigation of the allegations by the Scottish Government. From 2018, Salmond faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and attempted rape, culminating in a criminal trial in 2020 in which he was acquitted on all charges.

Allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Salmond in 2018, beginning an internal Scottish Government investigation. After Salmond declared his intention to seek a judicial review into irregularities in the investigation, the allegations against him were unlawfully leaked to the press. In 2019, the Scottish Government's investigation was ruled unlawful on procedural grounds, for which Salmond was awarded damages. The allegations against Salmond were brought to trial in 2020, and he was ultimately acquitted on all charges: found not guilty on 12 charges, and not proven on one of sexual assault with intent to rape. A further sexual assault charge had previously been withdrawn by the Crown.^[1]

Salmond asserted that the allegations against him were the result of a conspiracy within the Scottish Government to discredit him and remove him from public life. A Parliamentary Committee was convened to examine the government's handling of harassment complaints. Then-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also referred herself to an independent ethics inquiry to examine her own actions with respect to the allegations against Salmond, led by James Hamilton. In 2021, the committee concluded that Nicola Sturgeon had misled parliament in her recounting of her knowledge of the complaints against Salmond, but the independent investigation into her conduct carried out by James Hamilton concluded that this did not amount to a breach of the ministerial code.

After the conclusion of the parliamentary and independent inquiries, Salmond continued to pursue legal action against the Scottish Government until his death in 2024, alleging misfeasance by civil servants over the mishandling of the harassment investigation.