This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

SNP MPs are helping fund Alex Salmond’s legal challenge against the Scottish government’s handling of sexual harassment allegations, as the leader of a civil servants’ union condemned his remarks towards a senior government official.

Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, which represents the UK’s senior civil servants, accused the former nationalist leader of “nasty, vindictive and deliberate” attacks on the integrity of Leslie Evans, the Scottish government’s permanent secretary.

Salmond has repeatedly accused Evans of using an unlawful and unfair procedure to investigate allegations by two women that he sexually harassed them while he was first minister, and has launched a judicial review in Scotland’s civil courts.

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In a dramatic escalation of the dispute on Wednesday, Salmond announced that he had resigned his SNP membership and launched an online appeal to raise £50,000 towards his legal costs. By Thursday morning, the amount pledged had reached more than £70,000.

One SNP MP confirmed to the Guardian that they had contributed to Salmond’s appeal, while a tweet from another, Angus MacNeil, appeared to welcome the initiative, exposing a deepening split within the party.

Some MPs have accused SNP headquarters, which is run by the chief executive, Peter Murrell – the husband of the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon – of being arrogant and dictatorial.

MacNeil retweeted one attack on the party’s executive that said: “Can’t help but think this is a terrible indictment of the SNP’s disciplinary culture. Innocent until proven guilty.”

Play Video 0:55 'I haven't harassed anyone': Alex Salmond denies sexual misconduct allegations – video

One senior SNP figure said anger was growing over Salmond’s treatment, in particular at the leaking of details of the complaints. Another senior figure described the party leadership as “autocratic”.



The accusations, believed to include claims that Salmond touched the bottom and breasts of one official after telling her to get on to a bed at his official residence, have been passed to Police Scotland for investigation.

Mike Russell, a longstanding colleague of Salmond’s who is now Sturgeon’s constitutional relations minister, told BBC Radio Scotland he was “tremendously sad” about Salmond’s resignation. But Russell, who was the SNP chief executive during Salmond’s first period as party leader in the 1990s, said he stood “foursquare” behind the government’s handling of the affair.

Evans was preparing to publish a statement disclosing the fact that Salmond had been under investigation last week, before Salmond’s lawyers threatened the Scottish government with an interdict. Salmond insists he was promised confidentiality by Evans and was denied the chance to call his own witnesses.

He dropped that threat after Evans withdrew the planned statement, but details of the inquiry were leaked to the Daily Record. Salmond has offered no evidence that the original leak came from within the Scottish government. Some sources suggest one of the complainants has left the civil service.

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Shaken by the crisis around Salmond, Sturgeon has repeatedly defended Evans and the anti-harassment process under which he was investigated. She said again on Thursday that allegations of this type “must be investigated without fear or favour, regardless of the seniority of the person involved”.

Salmond has repeatedly denied any misconduct, and pointed out that until January, there had never been any complaint about his behaviour at the Scottish government. “Let me be clear again,” he said. “I refute these two complaints of harassment and I absolutely reject any suggestion of criminality.”

Writing in the Times, Penman said Salmond was attacking the integrity and neutrality of the civil service to promote his personal agenda.

“Amid outlandish MI5 conspiracy theories are responses from politicians echoing his witch-hunt narrative – gutter politics at its very worst,” Penman said.

“While accused of sexual harassment, a claim he denies, Mr Salmond attacks and threatens with legal action the individual tasked with investigating those complaints.

“As a former first minister, he knows Ms Evans is duty-bound to investigate complaints. Not only is this nasty, vindictive and deliberate, it also has broader consequences.

“What message does this send to those tasked with investigating complaints, let alone the real victims here? Mr Salmond’s actions undermine the integrity and impartiality of the civil service, thereby damaging the Scottish government itself. Clearly, it’s a price he believes is worth paying.”

Earlier this week, the main civil service unions – the PCS, FDA and Prospect – issued a joint statement backing Evans’ handling of the investigation and the complaints process, which they said protected the rights of government staff.

Lynn Henderson, the Scottish national officer for the PCS, said: “While we can’t comment on the detail because there’s a legal process under way, I want to reiterate that all workers have the right to go to work without fear of harassment be it sexual, or otherwise.

“Any kind of behaviour that undermines these basic rights of working people will not be tolerated by our unions.”