Alex Salmond 'astonished' at Nicola Sturgeon 'attempted collusion' claims

The row between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon has intensified, with Mr Salmond said to be “astonished at the ever-shifting sands of her story”, it has been reported.

Alex Salmond was reportedly 'not angry' at Nicola Sturgeon's claims.

It comes after Ms Sturgeon told an interviewer on Sky News today, she thought Alex Salmond was angry with her because she "didn't collude with him to make these allegations go away”.

Mr Salmond had previously been acquitted of sexual assault charges at the High Court in Edinburgh in March this year.

However, according to a report by the BBC, a source close to Mr Salmond is quoted as saying: "Alex Salmond is not ‘angry’ with the first minister; just astonished at the ever shifting sands of her story.

"Her claims of an attempted 'collusion' are not only untrue but unsupported by the written evidence and directly contradicted by her own previous parliamentary statements."

The Scottish Government has had to pay Mr Salmond more than £500,000 after admitting that its own investigation into claims of misconduct by him was handled wrongly.

A Holyrood inquiry has been set up to investigate the matter, with claims that Ms Sturgeon hasn’t been completely candid, however she has repeatedly denied withholding information.

She has previously said she had not spoken with Mr Salmond since July 2018.

On Sky News today she revealed previously undisclosed messages between her and Mr Salmond.

She said the WhatsApp exchanges were "not a big revelation", adding that the claims were a diversionary tactic by her predecessor.

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the messages did make "an oblique reference" to claims of inappropriate conduct by Mr Salmond - despite saying she released all relevant evidence to the Holyrood investigation.