Alex Salmond’s legacy is being tarnished by a ‘conspiracy of smears’ according to friends and allies of the late SNP leader, as police confirm they received a new sexual assault complaint.
A complaint about the former first minister regarding a ‘non-recent’ allegation is being ‘assessed’ by police officers.
The details of the complaint emerged just days after the funeral of Mr Salmond at Strichen Parish Church, near his Aberdeenshire home.
After details of the complaint were revealed yesterday, friends of the former leader of the Alba Party claimed he was the victim of ‘conspiracy and smears’ which were rejected in Scotland’s highest court.
Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny said: ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s Government were humiliated after being found to have acted unlawfully against Alex Salmond and someone from her own Government leaked an unlawful document – subsequently reduced by Scotland’s Supreme Court – intended to damage the character of Alex Salmond.’
Alex Salmond (pictured)Â died suddenly in Macedonia during lunch at a conference on October 12Â
At the time of his death last month, Mr Salmond was in the middle of suing the Scottish Government for its handling of complaints against himÂ
Mr McEleny also urged an end to attacks and smears on Alex Salmond, adding ‘allow him to rest in peace’.
Police Scotland confirmed the existence of the recent allegation but no details are known about the identity of the complainant, where they worked or whether it relates to Mr Salmond’s time as First Minister and SNP leader.
Mr Salmond had faced 14 charges but was cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that we have received a report of a non-recent sexual assault.
‘The information is being assessed.’
Mr Salmond died last month after suffering a heart attack during a lunch event which was part of a political conference in North Macedonia.
His funeral took place in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, last Tuesday, October 29.
A judicial review at the Court of Session previously found that the Scottish Government’s investigation into Mr Salmond had been unlawful and ‘tainted by apparent bias’.
A complaint about the former first minister regarding a ‘non-recent’ allegation is being ‘assessed’ by police officers
Mr Salmond had faced 14 charges but was cleared at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020
Some within the nationalist movement have claimed that there was a ‘conspiracy’ against Mr Salmond at the top of the SNP.
In a 2021 book, former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars said he had seen evidence which ‘confirmed my belief that he had been the victim of a conspiracy’.
During the Holyrood inquiry into the handling of complaints about Mr Salmond, WhatsApp messages were disclosed from Peter Murrell, then SNP chief executive and the husband of Ms Sturgeon, in January 2020 which said it was a ‘good time to be pressurising’ police and that the more fronts Mr Salmond ‘is having to firefight on the better for all the complainers’.
Extracts of the messages were leaked to Kenny MacAskill, now acting leader of the Alba Party, and fuelled claims that the party, government and prosecutors were colluding.
But the inquiry dismissed the allegation that the messages showed a conspiracy against the former First Minister.
The Scottish Government declined to comment on the new allegation against Mr Salmond.
MailOnline contacted Police Scotland for comment.
