‘It’s incredibly difficult for personal, political reasons’ : Nicola Sturgeon reflects on Alex Salmond’s political impact

Nicola Sturgeon has claimed nobody can reduce her predecessor’s impact on the Scottish independence movement, despite fractures within her own party.

The First Minister of Scotland made the comments about Alex Salmond during an interview with the Irish Times on Thursday.

It comes amid a Holyrood committee inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints made against the former politician and allegations of conspiracy.

‘It’s incredibly difficult for personal, political reasons’ : Nicola Sturgeon reflects on Alex Salmond’s political impact

She said: “It’s incredibly difficult for personal, political reasons and I’m not going to go into all that’s subject to inquiry.

“Nobody can take away the contribution – massive contribution – that Alex Salmond made to the growth and the current strength of the SNP and the independence movement.

“Whatever has happened over the past couple of years and whatever happens in the future, the changed relationship between him and I, nobody can take away the massive influence he was on my life.

“But often in life things that you don’t anticipate and don’t relish and wouldn’t have ever wanted to happen happen and you have to deal with those and you have to live with them.

“The one thing I think I can safely say though, notwithstanding the contribution I hope I’ve made and will continue to make, is that both the SNP and the Scottish independence movement is much, much bigger than any individual or any two individuals – no matter how important one or both of

them might have been.”

The Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints Committee was set up after the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints against the former first minister to be “unlawful”.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.