Nicola Sturgeon issues warning to SNP colleagues over Alex Salmond claims The SNP leader was addressing MSPs and MPs at an away day

Nicola Sturgeon has warned her SNP colleagues not to make it harder for potential victims of sexual harassment to come forward in the wake of the allegations about Alex Salmond.

In an apparent attack on her predecessor’s decision to cover his legal fees through a crowd funding appeal, the First Minister told MPs and MSPs to be careful with “everything we do and say”.

“I believe in a Scotland where there is equality before the law, where there’s not one rule for the powerful and another rule for everyone else” The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Nicola Sturgeon

Almost 4,000 people have donated money to Mr Salmond after he announced a public campaign for financial help in taking the Scottish Government to court.

The former SNP leader strongly denies the allegations against him and is contesting the official complaints process. So far he has raised more than £95,000 towards the costs of his judicial review.

The decision has been attacked as a “disgrace” by opposition politicians, while Ms Sturgeon responded by promoting funding appeals for the charities Rape Crisis and Women’s Aid instead.

Addressing SNP parliamentarians during an away day in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon stressed that the way they dealt with the situation “will say a lot about who we are as a party”.

She added: “I believe in a Scotland where there is equality before the law, where there’s not one rule for the powerful and another rule for everyone else, and where all parties get fair and due process.

“Let’s not forget that at the heart of this, amidst all the focus on process, politics and personalities, there are two people who have brought forward complaints, which cannot have been at all easy to do.”

‘Setting back progress’

She continued: “I want to be not just the First Minister but also a citizen of a country where people feel that they can come forward and know that their complaints will be taken seriously.

“Therefore, in everything we do and say, we need to make sure that we are not making it harder for people to come forward in the future – otherwise, we risk setting back so much of the progress that has been made in recent times.”

Both Ms Sturgeon and Ian Blackford, the party’s Westminster group leader, have refused to endorse Mr Salmond’s fundraiser but some SNP parliamentarians have reportedly contributed.

The SNP leader’s warning came as a senior party figure told i that divisions within the party over how the claims should be handled expose a rift between old and new members.

The “disaffection” which had emerged among Mr Salmond’s supporters in the wake of the allegations was “deeply damaging” for the party, they added.

They said the situation was unlikely to descend into “civil war” as Mr Salmond was no longer an MP and had resigned his membership, but added: “Is it deeply damaging for the party? Yes.”

They argued there were two distinct factions within the SNP: older members who had joined the party before it came to power; and newer members who joined after the independence referendum.

“This is probably now the takeover by the ‘new’ SNP. Nicola has been creating a party in her mould that will pursue young aspirational women and a younger generation – but the danger is she’s going to lose the old SNP core support.”