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 A further sexual assault charge had previously been withdrawn by the Crown.
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.
Background Alex Salmond was twice leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP; 1990-2000, 2004-2014) and served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. He resigned in 2014 following the "No" vote in the Scottish independence referendum, and his Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, succeeded him as First Minister and leader of the SNP. The political relationship between Salmond and Sturgeon prior to the scandal had been close: when Salmond resigned in 2014, Sturgeon described him as, "my friend, mentor and colleague for more than twenty years. Quite simply, I would not have been able to do what I have in politics without his constant advice, guidance and support through all these years." Salmond returned to the House of Commons as an MP from 2015 to 2017. After he was alleged to have made a sexist remark towards Conservative MP Anna Soubry in June 2015, Sturgeon defended Salmond and insisted that, "There's no man I know who is less sexist."
In January 2018, the Scottish Government received formal complaints of sexual misconduct by Salmond in 2013, while he was First Minister. These became public some months later. Documents released during a judicial review of the Scottish Government's internal investigation, however, indicated that Scottish Government staff had been in contact with Salmond's accusers as early as December 2017. This was a factor in the ultimate collapse of the Scottish Government investigation into the allegations. In August 2018, Salmond resigned from the SNP in the face of the allegations. In a statement he said that he wanted to avoid internal division within the party and intended to apply to rejoin the SNP once he had an opportunity to clear his name.
Internal Scottish Government investigation Early investigation The Scottish Government began an internal investigation into the allegations against Salmond, of which Salmond was informed in March 2018. Judith Mackinnon was appointed Investigating Officer (IO). It was subsequently revealed in Scottish Government legal advice published in 2022 that Mackinnon had prior contact with the complainers and should not have been appointed to the case. Government procedures state the IO must have had "no prior involvement with any aspect of the matter being raised".
Meetings between Salmond and Sturgeon Then-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon held several meetings with Salmond or his representatives in this period. On 29 March, Sturgeon met Salmond's former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein, in her Holyrood office, of which she later claimed to have no recollection. Salmond, Aberdein, former SNP strategist Kevin Pringle, and advocate Duncan Hamilton, later told the Scottish Parliament's Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints that the inquiry into the allegations against Salmond was discussed at this meeting, and that the name of an accuser was revealed to Aberdein. Hamilton further claimed that Sturgeon offered to intervene in the investigation at this meeting, something that Sturgeon later repeatedly denied: "I can confirm that the First Minister did offer to assist. We discussed mediation. My clear recollection is that her words were, 'if it comes to it, I will intervene'." This meeting took place four days before the date Sturgeon later claimed that she had first learned about the allegations against Salmond.
On 2 April, Sturgeon met with Salmond in her private home in Glasgow. Sturgeon later claimed that this was the date she learned about the investigation into Salmond. Sturgeon's chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, was present at this meeting, which was not minuted. This was later criticised by opposition parties, however Sturgeon insisted that the meeting was party, rather than governmental, business and so did not require minuting, and that as a special adviser, Lloyd could assist her on both matters. Salmond has claimed that at this meeting, Sturgeon left him "in no doubt" that she would intervene in the complaints process. Salmond's lawyer Duncan Hamilton later repeated Salmond's recollection to the Holyrood committee. Sturgeon has consistently denied that she offered to intervene in the complaints process.
Sturgeon again met with Salmond on 7 June in Aberdeen before the SNP party conference, and again in her private home on 14 July. She also spoke to him via telephone on 23 April, 6 June, and 18 July, which was by Sturgeon's account her last meeting with Salmond.
Allegations leaked to the press Following the 6 June 2018 telephone call, with Salmond seeking a further meeting, Sturgeon informed the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary, Leslie Evans, that she knew about the inquiry into harassment complaints, that she had discussed it with Salmond, and that he was considering legal action. Salmond and Sturgeon were informed that the government's investigation was complete on 22 August 2018, with Leslie Evans telling them that she intended to make the fact of the complaints public.
On 24 August 2018 the Daily Record exclusively reported that Salmond had been reported to the police over claims he sexually assaulted two Bute House staff members as First Minister. This was later established to be a potentially-unlawful leak of information, after investigations by the Scottish Government and the information commissioner failed to establish how the newspaper obtained the information. Salmond denied the allegations and criticised the handling of the investigation, calling it "unjust" and announcing that he would seek a judicial review of the way the investigation was handled.
In July 2024, nearly six years later, Sir David Davis MP used parliamentary privilege to name Liz Lloyd, then Nicola Sturgeon's chief of staff, as the source of the leak. In August 2025, ahead of the publication of her memoir Frankly and nearly a year after Salmond's death, Nicola Sturgeon denied releasing details about the probe or having any knowledge of who did, but said that it would have been "classic Alex" for Salmond to have been responsible for the leak. Sturgeon's claims were denounced by Salmond's allies and denied by David Clegg, who had been the political editor of the Daily Record at the time.
Judicial review Salmond alleges irregularities Salmond alleged serious irregularities in the Scottish Government's handling of accusations of sexual misconduct against him. His demand for a judicial review singled out the conduct of Leslie Evans, saying that the "procedure as put into operation by the permanent secretary is grossly unfair and therefore inevitably will lead to prejudicial outcomes". On 24 August, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a statement confirming that complaints were made and investigated, stressing that while she had been "aware for some time of the fact of the investigation - initially from Alex Salmond - I have had no role in the process". She also stated that "this focus on process cannot deflect from the fact that complaints were made that could not be ignored or swept under the carpet". Leslie Evans said the government would "defend its position vigorously" - and claimed that Salmond's statement contained "significant inaccuracies which will be addressed in court".
On 30 August 2018, the same day of his resignation from the SNP, Salmond launched a crowdfunding appeal to pay for the legal costs of seeking a review into the fairness of the process by which the Scottish Government has handled the allegations. He closed the appeal two days later, on 1 September, after raising £100,000, double the amount he wanted to pay for his legal costs.
Scottish Government warned its case is weak On 31 August, the then-senior counsel for the government, Roddy Dunlop QC, warned the government that revelations that the Investigating Officer (IO), Judith Mackinnon, had previously met and briefed the two complainers were "extremely concerning": "I am not suggesting bad faith on the part of anyone, least of all Ms Mackinnon," Dunlop warned in legal advice to the government that was ultimately published in 2021. "But the fact remains that the procedure indicates – to my mind, at last, that she was not eligible to be appointed as IO. If I am right in that regard then arguably that infects all that followed thereon." Nevertheless, on 20 September, the Scottish Government confirmed that it would contest Salmond's judicial review, saying that, "As we have said previously, we are confident our processes are legally sound and we will vigorously defend our position. There are a number of inaccuracies in Mr Salmond's public statements and we will address those matters in court."
On 14 September, Police Scotland confirmed that it had launched a separate investigation into the complaints. Leslie Evans later admitted to the Scottish Parliament committee that the allegations had been passed to the Crown Office despite the complainants being reluctant to pursue criminal action.
Judicial review begins The judicial review convened in court for the first time on 6 November, with Lord Pentland presiding. On 14 December, Salmond's legal team successfully argued that redacted emails and notes related to the case should be independently reviewed. Salmond's advocate, Ronnie Clancy QC, said that redacted documents showed that Scottish Government staff had been in contact with Salmond's accusers as early as December 2017 - one month before the investigation into Salmond began - and that Civil Service guidelines stated that staff who investigate harassment allegations should have no prior contact with the complainers. Roddy Dunlop QC said that the Scottish Government maintained that procedures had been followed correctly. Lord Pentland ruled that an independent advocate, Morag Ross QC, would examine the documents to assess whether they should be disclosed to Salmond's legal team.