Police investigating Alex Salmond harassment inquiry leaks

Police are investigating “potentially unlawful” leaks about the Scottish Government’s inquiry into allegations of harassment against former First Minister Alex Salmond.

The Daily Record newspaper broke the news of the allegations from two female civil servants on August 23, 2018.

Salmond previously said he would make a complaint to Police Scotland regarding the leak.

He also said a new book, detailing the breakdown of the relationship between himself and his successor Nicola Sturgeon, “potentially breaches the criminal law in a number of ways”.

The book contains extracts from the Scottish Government investigation which is said to have upheld five charges against Salmond at its conclusion.

But the former First Minister won a legal case against the Scottish Government regarding a breach of guidelines during its investigation and its findings were set aside.

Then, a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh cleared the former SNP leader of 13 charges in March 2020.

Inquiries by the government and the information commissioner failed to determine how the Daily Record got hold of the leaks.

In March, the women at the centre of the inquiry said they would make a formal complaint to the Scottish Parliament after their evidence was leaked to the paper.

An inquiry into the government’s handling of the harassment complaints reported its findings on March 23, concluding it had been “significantly flawed”.

Commenting on the police investigation, Salmond said: “I welcome the police confirmation of this investigation.

“I have always believed that if you find the sources of the criminal leaks then you find the truth.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have a received two complaints regarding the potential unlawful disclosure of information which are being investigated.”