Alex Salmond inquiry: Fireworks fizz rather than bang

In the end, there were fireworks, though they fizzed and crackled rather than exploding.
Alex Salmond makes his opening statement to the Scottish Parliament committee at examining the government's handling of harassment allegations against him. Picture: Andy Buchanan/GettyAlex Salmond makes his opening statement to the Scottish Parliament committee at examining the government's handling of harassment allegations against him. Picture: Andy Buchanan/Getty
Alex Salmond makes his opening statement to the Scottish Parliament committee at examining the government's handling of harassment allegations against him. Picture: Andy Buchanan/Getty

If there is a lingering sense that Alex Salmond’s appearance before the Holyrood inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints seldom got out of second gear, it is perhaps because he had already aired his most extraordinary claims in advance.

In person, the former first minister eschewed the incendiary rhetoric of his written submissions to the parliamentary committee, instead pursuing a methodical, at times subdued, assessment of what he believes to be a plot against him.

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It was not without incident, if that is not an understatement when describing his calls for the SNP’s chief executive, the permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, and the Lord Advocate to consider their positions.

For the most part, however, Mr Salmond, wearing a Saltire tie and matching pin badge on his lapel, cut a subdued figure, at least in relation to the forceful persona that characterised his time in public office.

This was attributable in no small part to a chest infection that saw him repeatedly cough throughout proceedings, and led to proceedings being suspended at one point.

But it would be remiss not to suppose that such an approach was deliberate on the part of a man once regarded as one of Scotland’s canniest political strategists.

Having already set out a tranche of excoriating allegations ahead of taking oath, he chose to focus instead on the government’s various failings during legal proceedings, and contradict accounts given to the inquiry by senior SNP figures.

There was no smoking gun, nor were significant deviations from the evidence Mr Salmond put down on paper. Crucially, he also said that he did not have documentary evidence to suggest that Nicola Sturgeon was involved in the plot against him.

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Yet he still succeeded in raising serious questions for Ms Sturgeon and her administration, not least when claiming that there had been an obstruction of justice on its part by withholding documents from a criminal court.

There were flickers of animation during his evidence, not least when he railed against the idea the Scottish Government’s inquiry was “botched”, insisting: “The policy wasn’t botched. The policy was unlawful, unfair and tainted by apparent bias. Botched doesn’t cover it.”

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But he seemed to come to life the most when appearing to exorcise long-standing grievances with those in the party he once led, alleging there were attempts to pressurise Police Scotland’s investigation by “Inspector Murrell” – a reference to Ms Sturgeon’s husband and the SNP’s chief executive.

Throughout the proceedings, Mr Salmond repeatedly expressed frustration at the parameters of the evidence he was allowed to set out, and predictably, several of the session’s flashpoints were concerned with the inquiry’s remit.

At one point, Mr Salmond, Alex Cole-Hamilton and Linda Fabiani, the committee convenor, became involved in a spirited exchange over the inquiry’s parameters, sparked by the Scottish Lib Dem MSP asking Mr Salmond if he was “sorry” for some of his “appalling” behaviour, and questioning him about his temper and so-called “hairdryer treatment”.

Mr Salmond expressed no remorse and offered no apology. At one point, he advised Mr Cole-Hamilton that pursuing personal issues was a “dangerous road to go down”.

The inquiry is nearing an end, but the direction of travel is anything, but straightforward.

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