Alex Salmond cleared of historical sexual assault claim
Police Scotland said no further action will be taken following a complaint made last year in the wake of the former first minister's death, aged 69.
Mr Salmond, who left the SNP in 2018 and later established the pro-independence Alba Party, suffered a heart attack and died while attending a conference in North Macedonia in October 2024.
One month later, the national force said it had received a report of a 'non-recent sexual assault'.
It is understood that the case has been closed owing to insufficient evidence. A report was not submitted to the Crown Office.
Mr Salmond served as first minister under the SNP from 2007 to 2014 and led the party through the independence referendum.
He resigned from the party in 2018 when allegations of sexual misconduct emerged and ultimately set up the Alba Party in 2021.
His latter years were, however, dominated by claims and counter claims about his conduct.
In 2019, Mr Salmond successfully sued the Scottish government, led by his former protégé Nicola Sturgeon, for its handling of an investigation into complaints of sexual harassment made against him.
'Tainted with bias'
He was awarded £500,000 after the inquiry was ruled to be 'tainted with apparent bias'.
The former first minister was subsequently charged with 13 sexual offences, including attempted rape, but was acquitted on all counts after the 2020 trial.
During his evidence to the court, Mr Salmond said he had a 'sleepy cuddle' with one complainer in his official residence.
However, he described the claims made about his alleged conduct as 'deliberate fabrications for a political purpose' or 'exaggerations'.
Mr Salmond's lawyer told the court the former first minister 'could certainly have been a better man' but had not committed any crimes.
He said that his client had sometimes behaved badly, calling him 'touchy-feely'.
A Holyrood inquiry into the government's handling of complaints against Mr Salmond found Ms Sturgeon had misled MSPs over a meeting with her predecessor in her home in 2018, but cleared her of breaching the ministerial code.
Following the trial, Mr Salmond repeatedly claimed that many in his former party had colluded against him in an effort to block his return to frontline politics.
On Thursday, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Following a report of a non-recent sexual assault, enquiries were carried out and no further action will be taken.'
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