Nicola Sturgeon making claims about Alex Salmond because he cannot defend himself, niece says

Alex Salmond’s niece has criticised Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to write about her late uncle, saying she had only done so “because he’s not here to defend himself”.

Christina Hendry said if the former first minister and Alba Party leader was alive today he would have defended himself “with every fibre of his being”.

Sturgeon made several claims about her predecessor in her memoir Frankly, which was published last week.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon made several claims about Alex Salmond in her new book. PA Media

She accused Salmond of creating conspiracy theories over sexual harassment allegations and said he did not read the independence white paper before the referendum in 2014.

Sturgeon also said Salmond “wanted to destroy me” and would have rather seen the SNP fail than succeed without him.

Appearing on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Ms Hendry criticised Sturgeon.

She said: “The way I see it is if my uncle was here today, these things would not be being said.

“I believe they are being said because he’s not here to defend himself, as he would have done with every fibre of his being.”

Asked what she thought had motivated Sturgeon to make the claims now, Ms Hendry said: “I’m unsure. I think there’s been a few people questioning that.

“But I think the timing of these things being said – there’s been a number of years where they’ve not been said, that these things could have been said, and the timing of it now, where she’s released the book and is looking to publicise that.

“I think many people have thought that could be the case.”

In her book, Sturgeon said Salmond had never produced a “shred of evidence” that he was a victim of a conspiracy, adding that he admitted to her the substance of one of the complaints against him.

A judicial review into the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints against Salmond found the investigation was tainted by apparent bias while a court cleared him of all charges.

Alex Salmond’s niece Christina Hendry, Alba Party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Skeikh and Alba Party leader Kenny MacAskill. PA Media

Ms Hendry said: “The bottom line is he was cleared in the highest court in Scotland and I think I’m unsure as to why it’s being brought up.

“I do think there were people conspiring against him, and I think there’s the truth will still come out.

“There are things to still come out in the public, and I think there are many people who should be thinking about their actions.”

Ms Hendry added that her family was united in pursuing legal action against the Scottish Government over its botched harassment probe.

In December, she announced she would run to be an MSP in one of Salmond’s former seats.

Ms Hendry said she would contest the Banffshire and Buchan Coast seat for Alba that her uncle had planned to campaign in before his death in North Macedonia in October.