Alex Salmond accuses Nicola Sturgeon's top aide of leaking name

Alex Salmond speaking outside the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Alex Salmond has accused Nicola Sturgeon's top aide of leaking the name of a woman who made a sexual harassment complaint against him, but the Scottish Government has said his claim is "untrue".

Mr Salmond makes the accusation in evidence submitted to the inquiry established to investigate the botched handling of complaints made against him, the full text of which was published by the Spectator magazine on Saturday.

In the evidence, the former first minister says Liz Lloyd, Ms Sturgeon's chief of staff, divulged the name of one of the women who made a complaint against Mr Salmond.

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A Scottish Government spokesman said it had "protected the identities of the complainants throughout".

In his evidence, Mr Salmond wrote: "I was contacted by phone on or around March 9, 2018 and further the following week … at that stage I did not know the identity of the other complainer."

Mr Salmond has also accused the First Minister of breaching the ministerial code in relation to a meeting with him in her home, where she was told about allegations of sexual harassment made against him.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has called for Ms Lloyd to be sacked if the claims are found to be true.

He said: "It is already a fact that the women at the heart of this process have been utterly failed by basic errors from the SNP Government.

"Their botched investigation let those women down. The news that the First Minister's chief of staff possibly leaked one of their names to Mr Salmond's team will be a further crushing blow.

"This claim, that a potential victim's identity was apparently revealed, suggests an appalling act that entirely betrays those women's right to confidentiality and makes a mockery of the privacy of the Government's investigation."

He added: "The First Minister must now provide evidence to refute these claims or, if they are true, sack Liz Lloyd for gross misconduct."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This claim is untrue. The Scottish Government has protected the identities of the complainants throughout.

"The First Minister has set out her contacts with Mr Salmond in detail to Parliament. She stands by her statements and the detailed written evidence she has provided, including in relation to the meeting on March 29, 2018."