Former first minister Alex Salmond set to make public statement today

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond is to make a public statement.

Mr Salmond said he will make his statement and then hold a virtual question and answer session at 2pm today.

It comes after he announced plans to take legal action over the “conduct” of the Scottish Government’s top civil servant Leslie Evans.

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond leaves the High Court in Edinburgh in 2020. Picture: PA

He said the permanent secretary failed to take “real responsibility” for failings highlighted in two reports this week.

Mr Salmond said his announcement of the legal action on Wednesday would be his “final statement” on the reports.

The topic of his statement on Friday has not been disclosed.

Earlier this week, two reports were published related to the Scottish Government’s handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

James Hamilton’s report into whether First Minister Nicola Sturgeon breached the ministerial code concluded she did not do so with regard to the four allegations he looked into.

But the Scottish Parliament committee examining the handling of harassment complaints found Ms Sturgeon misled Parliament and identified a number of failings.