Alex Salmond appeared in court today accused of offences against 10 women, including attempted rape and a series of sexual assaults.

The former first minister of Scotland attended a procedural hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh following a previous appearance in November, when he denied all 14 charges.

Salmond is accused of attempting to rape a woman at Bute House, the official residence of Scotland’s first minister, during the independence referendum campaign.

Court papers allege he placed her legs over his, repeatedly kissed her face and neck, groped her then blocked her path.

He is then alleged to have pinned her against a wall, pulled at her clothes and stripped himself naked before trying to rape her on a bed.