Alex Salmond unleashes on 'venomous' BBC over independence anniversary documentary

Former first minister Alex Salmond has launched a scathing tirade against BBC Scotland over its new documentary, accusing the broadcaster of “venomous and institutional bias against Scottish independence”.

And the ex-SNP leader has also taken a major swipe at former first minister Humza Yousaf, accusing his successor of being “reduced to smears” in “his quest for relevance”.

Former first minister Alex Salmond has taken aim at BBC Scotland in an extended thread posted on X | NationalWorld

Mr Salmond was responding on social media to accusations made by Mr Yousaf in the second part of the documentary ‘Salmond and Sturgeon: A Troubled Union’.

In a key interview, Mr Yousaf said of the position of first minister: “You can choose to use that power appropriately or you can choose to abuse it. And on too many occasions, given the behaviour that Alex has already admitted, there was too many instances of that abuse of power.”

In the series, key players in the SNP speak out about Mr Salmond’s behaviour in government.

Mr Salmond was at the centre of a botched harassment investigation against him, before being acquitted of any criminal behaviour following his high-profile trial in 2020.

During that trial, Mr Salmond’s lawyer Gordon Jackson admitted the ex-first minister had acted in an “inappropriate” manner at times, but stressed this was not criminal. He added that Mr Salmond had “behaved badly” and could have been a “better man”.

Other interviewees also criticised the conduct of Mr Salmond in the new two-part series.

Nicola Sturgeon - his successor of first minister - told how she found the harassment allegations against her mentor “profoundly upsetting”.

Speaking about Mr Salmond’s behaviour, Ms Sturgeon told the series “he would have outbursts” and that “his temper was sometimes out of control”.

She said those in his inner circle “were so used to how he was” that there was a “sense of what we’d just learned to put up with wasn’t entirely acceptable”.

Ms Sturgeon’s former chief-of-staff Liz Lloyd was also asked about Mr Salmond, saying that “when things go wrong it is never his fault, it is somebody else’s”.

Posting an extended thread on X on Tuesday, Mr Salmond said: “For any independence supporter to trust a single word the BBC, or associated organisation, say is one of the great mistakes in life.

“The BBC’s venomous and institutional bias against Scottish independence was demonstrated during the referendum and remains to this day.

“And so when I was invited to take part in a ‘blue chip’ history of the rise of the SNP by Firecrest Films for the BBC, I should have smelled a rat immediately, instead of believing the assurances that they willingly gave, that they were intent on making serious programming.

“The first episode, starting 1987 offered some hope, but the urge to portray history as a psycho drama between me and Nicola Sturgeon meant that major figures such as Winnie Ewing, Jim Sillars, Alex Neil, and Margo MacDonald were written out to allow others to be written in.

“The second episode plumbed new depths even for the BBC - soap opera history. In this parody, half-built ferries, bottle schemes, self-ID law, male rapists in female prisons and blue tents outside houses do not rate even a sole mention in explaining the decline of the Party.”

Humza Yousaf. Picture: Andrew Milligan-Pool/Getty Images | Getty Images

Mr Salmond continued: “My advice, turn it off after the first episode which at least has some interesting old footage. And what can be said about poor Humza ‘the brief’, the new self-appointed authority on personal conduct and morality?

“In a programme which was supposed to be about the history of the rise of the SNP, a party defined by towering figures like Winnie Ewing and Neil MacCormick, Humza Yousaf confirms himself as an unfortunate footnote.

“In his quest for relevance, he is reduced to smears. I am comfortable with my contribution as First Minister to advancing Scotland’s interests and the cause of independence. I doubt Humza can say the same, nor that it will be said of him.”

Mr Salmond had separately said he “seriously doubts” he will ever be on speaking terms with Ms Sturgeon again.

Ms Sturgeon spoke out about her resignation, admitting that she had become a “barrier” in Scottish politics.

She said: “I started to feel that people’s feelings about me were so strong - either people love me or loathe me. I was the barrier to reasoned debate.”

The series also hears from incumbent SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney, who admitted he was concerned about the party’s policy to pursue a second referendum on independence, fearing there was not a public appetite for a re-run of the 2014 poll.

He said: “I have to say I was nervous, because I was still concerned by how we were able to motivate people in Scotland when we had just had one [a referendum] in 2014.”

Mr Swinney also discussed Mr Salmond’s condemnation of the Nato military intervention in Kosovo in 1999. He said the language Mr Salmond used was “not appropriate, not correct”.

The two programmes focus on the history of the SNP from 1987 until last year when Ms Sturgeon quit as first minister.

The shows portray some of the biggest moments in the history of the SNP, including sweeping to power at Holyrood in 2007, Mr Salmond losing his seat in the 2015 Westminster election, the independence referendum, both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond being involved in political controversies and Mr Salmond launching his controversial television show on Russia Today.

A BBC spokesman said: “The series provides an in-depth look at the recent history of the SNP from 1987 to 2023 and includes a broad range of contributors who share their insights.”