Alex Salmond, the former first minister, was cleared of all charges at the High Court in Edinburgh

A former British diplomat has been charged with contempt of court after writing blogs about the trial of Alex Salmond. Proceedings had started against Craig Murray, a former ambassador to Uzbekistan, the Crown Office confirmed.

Mr Salmond, the former first minister, was cleared of all charges at the High Court in Edinburgh after nine women accused him of sexual assault, including an attempted rape.

It is a criminal offence to publish the identities of the women after a court order was made by Lady Dorrian during the trial. Mr Murray attended two days of the trial in the public gallery and on each day produced blogs of the proceedings. He had been declined access as a member of the media.