Former first minister is subject of complaints from two Scottish government staff

The former first minister Alex Salmond is taking Scotland’s top civil servant to court after she launched an inquiry into sexual misconduct allegations made against him by two government staff members.

Salmond is the subject of misconduct complaints over incidents that allegedly took place while he was first minister, which have since been passed to the police.

One case centres on an alleged incident involving an employee at the first minister’s official residence, Bute House, in Edinburgh in December 2013, the Daily Record reports.

The Scottish government confirmed on Friday morning that the two complaints were received in January and that Salmond was informed of them in March.

Salmond has denied the allegations and in a statement issued on Twitter said he had “tried everything, including offers of conciliation, mediation and legal arbitration to resolve these matters both properly and amicably”.

He disclosed he had launched legal action on Thursday against Leslie Evans, the permanent secretary of the Scottish government, challenging her handling of the allegations. He said: “If I lose then I will have to answer to the complaints both comprehensively and publicly.”

It then emerged that Salmond had sought an interdict on Thursday against the Scottish government to stop it disclosing the harassment allegations. He later dropped that action and instead launched proceedings to have a judicial review of its handling of the claims.

The Scottish government confirmed Salmond had begun proceedings in the court of session, Scotland’s civil court.

It said those proceedings restricted what it could say in response, but in a statement added: “The Scottish government will defend its position vigorously. As a matter of principle and integrity, it is vital that any allegations of harassment are treated seriously and investigated thoroughly, regardless of the identity of the party involved.”

The dispute between Salmond and the Scottish government is expected to send shockwaves through the Scottish National party, wider politics and the civil service.

Salmond has twice been SNP leader, from 1990 to 2000, and from 2004 to 2014, and held several parliamentary seats at both Westminster and Holyrood. After becoming first minister in 2007, he renamed the Scottish executive the Scottish government to strengthen its identity.

Its powers and influence increased markedly during his period in office, with the SNP repeatedly gaining greater policymaking and tax-raising powers from the UK government.

Since quitting as SNP leader after losing the 2014 independence referendum, Salmond has taken on a political chatshow on the Russian state-funded broadcaster RT in partnership with the former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

It has been a source of significant tension with Nicola Sturgeon, his successor as SNP leader and first minister, with the party advising its parliamentarians not to appear on the programme given allegations that it is a mouthpiece for the government of Vladimir Putin.

In his statement, Salmond indicated he had been in protracted and intense negotiation with Evans, and suggested he had sought to avoid taking formal action.

He said: “The permanent secretary chose to deny me contact with any current civil servant, many of whom wished to give evidence on my behalf, and access to documentation to allow me to properly challenge the complaints, all of which I refute and some of which were patently ridiculous.”

Claiming the actions were grossly unfair, Salmond said he had launched the judicial review with reluctance: “The procedure as put into operation by the permanent secretary is grossly unfair and therefore inevitably will lead to prejudicial outcomes.”

He added: “[If] the court of session finds in my favour then the administration at the senior levels of the Scottish government will have the most serious questions to answer.”

In a personal statement, Sturgeon said the allegations were extremely difficult for her and the SNP, but she insisted that due process had to be followed.

“This focus on process cannot deflect from the fact that complaints were made that could not be ignored or swept under the carpet,” she said.

“I have been clear on many occasions that all organisations and workplaces must make it possible for people to come forward to report concerns and have confidence that they will be treated seriously. For that principle to mean anything it cannot be applied selectively. It must be applied without fear or favour, regardless of the identity, seniority or political allegiance of the person involved.

“My relationship with Alex Salmond obviously makes this an extremely difficult situation for me to come to terms with. I am also acutely aware how upsetting this will be for my party. However the overriding priority must be to ensure fair and due process. I would also ask that the privacy of those who have complained be respected.”

A statement from Evans said: “Last November, I agreed with the first minister that, in light of wider concerns about harassment in Westminster and the Scottish parliament, an internal review would be carried out into the Scottish government’s procedures for handling complaints in the workplace.

“As part of that review, a new procedure on handling harassment complaints involving current or former ministers was introduced. Following the conclusion of an internal investigation I can confirm that the Scottish government received two complaints in January in relation to Alex Salmond.

“Mr Salmond was notified of the complaints in March and the details of the procedure under which the complaints would be addressed.”