Alex Salmond ally says his widow should drop plan to sue SNP Government over botched sexual harassment probe
One of Alex Salmond's closest allies has said plans by the late First Minister's widow to sue the SNP Government over an unlawful sexual harassment probe should be dropped.
Chris McEleny, who flew to North Macedonia to help bring back Salmond's body, said going to court will damage the independence movement.
He also claimed the former First MinIster would not have pursued the case if he was still alive.
Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon fell out spectacularly when her Government investigated him over claims of misconduct.
A judge ruled the probe had been "tainted with apparent bias" and the Government admitted the investigation had been unlawful.
Salmond, who quit the SNP to lead Alba, was later cleared of sexual offences charges after a High Court trial in Edinburgh.
It was reported over the weekend that Salmond's widow Moira had instructed lawyers to sue the Government over the botched probe.
McEleny, who was Alba general secretary when Salmond died of a heart attack in October, said legal action is the 'wrong move'.
He said he would 'never tell Moira what to do', but added: 'I just do not see the merits in pursuing the case.'
Salmond had launched a legal case against the Government, but McEleny is doubtful he would have seen it through: 'I don't think it was in line with Alex Salmond's strategy or thinking.
He said: 'He had beaten the Scottish Government and been cleared in the High Court. His polling was also looking good and his political reputation was on the way back.
'My understanding of his strategy was to see if the Government conceded and, if they didn't, publish all the information he had about the case and call the Government's bluff. I don't think his intention was ever to take the Scottish Government to court.'
McEleny said: 'He was already 2-0 up in terms of court victories and going to court a third time just was not going to be beneficial for Alex. There was a risk he could lose which would make people think there was not a conspiracy against him.'
He said pursuing the case would harm Alba's Holyrood election strategy of persuading SNP supporters to vote for them on the regional lists.
'Nicola Sturgeon is still very popular among SNP voters,' he said. 'If pro-independence voters are considering voting for the SNP and Alba on the List, this will not be helped if they think both parties do not get on.
'If the key players seem to be at each other's throats, that is not positive.'
He added: 'Alex got justice. He eviscerated and humiliated the Government in the Court of Session and was acquitted in the High Court. He died an innocent man.'
'Alex is Scotland's greatest ever First Minister while Nicola is clouded in scandal and questions over her legacy.'
'Alex won and Nicola lost. It is time for the independence movement to come together and unite. A court room does not move independence forward.'
McEleny, who was an SNP councillor before joining Alba, was one of Salmond's closest friends in the last years of his life. He was expelled from Alba after a bitter fall out with party bosses.
Alba leader Kenny MacAskill rejected the claims: 'Mr McEleny speaks neither for Alex's widow nor the wider family. Those closest to him and who he loved most are best placed to know his wishes. The suggestion he would not have pursued the case is arrant nonsense.'
The Sunday Mail reported that Moira Salmond will pursue the case after Sturgeon criticised her late husband in her memoirs.
A family friend said at the weekend: 'Moira is upset and angered by the continued attempts to smear Alex in the book – much of which is ridiculous and inaccurate.
'It has only strengthened her resolve to make sure that the full truth comes out and that Alex's name is cleared.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Swinney says SNP majority at Holyrood could make second referendum a ‘reality'
John Swinney has vowed to give 'absolutely every fibre of my being' to helping the SNP win a majority of seats in next May's Scottish elections – insisting that is necessary for a second vote on independence to be held. He dismissed as 'laughable' claims from critics that this strategy for getting a second referendum is 'punting' independence 'into the long grass'. However, while opinion polls have the SNP in the lead in the run-up to the crucial Holyrood vote, none has indicated Mr Swinney's party could win an overall majority. The Scottish Parliament's proportional representation system makes it harder for any single party to win more than half of the seats, with only former SNP leader Alex Salmond having achieved this in 2011. That victory led to the 2014 independence referendum, with Mr Swinney now relying on this 'precedent' as he seeks to secure a second vote on Scotland's place in the UK. His comments came as he indicated independence supporters are 'frustrated' that despite the 2016 and 2021 Holyrood elections both returning majorities of MSPs supporting independence, successive Westminster governments have refused to allow a second ballot to be held. Mr Swinney, speaking at an event organised by think tank Enlighten in Edinburgh on Tuesday, also noted that while Scots voted to stay in the UK in 2014 there were now 'various polls' with a majority for independence. Pressed on his strategy of using a Holyrood majority to achieve another referendum, the Scottish First Minister insisted that the idea this was 'punting it into the long grass is laughable for me'. Instead, he insisted independence as an 'urgent necessity', claiming decisions by the Labour Government at Westminster will make it harder for him to achieve his 'mission' of eradicating child poverty. However, he insisted he has 'got to be realistic' about how a second referendum could be brought about. Mr Swinney said: 'An independent Scotland will only come about if it carries domestic and international legitimacy, ie the rules of how it becomes independent are accepted by all parties.' He stressed this had been the case in 2014, as he added: 'If we want to advance on this issue there has got to be a means of breaking the log jam that we are currently in. 'Two successive elections, the majority of members of the Scottish Parliament supporting holding a referendum on independence and the Westminster government just folds its arms and says 'no'.' The First Minister noted that 'in 2011, when the SNP won a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament, that led to a referendum in 2014'. And he added: 'If we want independence to happen we have got to rely on that precedent.' He rejected suggestions from Enlighten director Chris Deerin that returning a majority of SNP MSPs to Holyrood next May was a 'bold ambition', as he called on independence supporters to make the issue a 'priority' in that election. 'Then we can turn this into reality,' Mr Swinney said. Polls currently indicate the SNP could still be the largest party at Holyrood after the next election, but have so far failed to show Mr Swinney's party winning more than half the 129 seats. However, Mr Swinney recalled that in the run-up to 2011 election, his party was 'miles behind' in the opinion polls but 'then we won a majority four months later'. And he said: 'Today, nine months out from the election, I am ahead in the opinion polls. 'When I took over as SNP leader we were behind. I have brought the SNP back into the lead, a commanding lead in the opinion polls, and on the opinion polls today, we still would be the largest party by a country mile in the Scottish Parliament.' However he insisted: 'That's not good enough for me. 'I have set out what we have got to do to clear a pathway to win Scottish independence and I am going to give absolutely every fibre of my being from now until May 7 next year to make sure it happens.'
Scottish Sun
15 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Scots creep made and shared deepfake naked pictures of school pal
The case is one of the first of its kind to appear in a Scottish court A CREEP used artificial intelligence to create deepfake naked images of his high school friend and shared them with pals. Callum Brooks, 25, altered two social media pictures posted by the woman on June 24 2022. Brooks used photoshop software to make the woman appear in a "state of undress" without her knowledge or consent. Brooks, of Glasgow's Easterhouse, claimed that there was "no sexual element" to his actions which was accepted by the Crown. Advertisement The first offender stated that he carried out the crime to show what the software did. Brooks pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to disclosing a photograph of the woman in an intimate situation without her consent. The case is one of the first of its kind to appear in a Scottish court. The court heard that Brooks and the woman had been friends at high school and remained in contact on social media. Advertisement Prior to the crime, Brooks obtained a software application which altered images using artificial intelligence (AI). Prosecutor Katie Malcolm said: "Brooks took two images from the woman's Instagram account which she uploaded online in which she was fully clothed. "Brooks then altered the images so that they showed the woman to be in a state of undress. "One was a full length image and the other was from the waist up. Advertisement Fears AI will destroy entire justice system by sending innocent people to JAIL with fake CCTV evidence & deepfakes "Brooks then sent the images to two friends." The hearing was told that the woman "knew nothing" about the images. Sheriff Anna Reid fined Brooks £335.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Swinney: My focus is on the future and Scotland – not Sturgeon's book
John Swinney said while he has read some extracts from the former first minister's memoirs, Frankly, which were published last week, he has not yet read yet the entire book. But he refused to comment on her claims about Alex Salmond, with the current SNP leader saying: 'For me, in my role today, and what I have got to do for Scotland just now, I have got focus on the country and the future.' He insisted: 'That's what is driving everything I do in my political life, what is the future of Scotland, what is the best future for Scotland. 'That is what I am best to concentrate my thinking on.' Mr Swinney was pressed on the matter by Chris Deerin, director of the think tank Enlighten, which was formerly known as Reform Scotland. At an event in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Mr Deerin said Ms Sturgeon had portrayed her predecessor 'at times as a bully, a bit of a drunk, as a man who was detached from the details'. In her book, Ms Sturgeon, who was first minister in Scotland and SNP leader between 2014 and 2023, set out how her relationship with her predecessor Mr Salmond deteriorated – claiming in the book that after she took on the top job her former mentor had wanted to 'destroy' her. She insisted her relationship with the late politician began to started to sour after she became leader of Scotland. She added that her infamous falling out with her predecessor was a 'bruising episode', as she claimed Mr Salmond had created a 'conspiracy theory' to defend himself from reckoning with misconduct allegations, of which he was cleared in court. Mr Swinney said, on Tuesday, that the memoirs gave a 'fascinating insight into Scottish political history', as he praised Ms Sturgeon for her leadership during the Covid pandemic. The SNP leader, who was deputy first minister at that time, told the audience at the Enlighten event: 'We were all taking big decisions in difficult circumstance.' He added: 'In a moment of absolutely unparalleled difficulty for the country, in which there was no manual, there was no precedent, I saw Nicola Sturgeon deliver considered and careful leadership as we moved our way through the pandemic, under enormous strain of delivering against those expectations, those difficulties.' He went on to state that 'leadership is not easy', with Mr Swinney explaining: 'I feel that way, it is not straight forward, the decisions I take are invariably contested decisions.' As a result, he said, making such decisions was 'inevitably' a 'very lonely place'. The First Minister added: 'Ultimately, it is your call, you have got to decide. 'And I think some of that is explained in Nicola's book about what she felt at times.'
