Alex Salmond sex abuse accuser benefited from nearly £100k of public money after court allegations

One of Alex Salmond’s sex abuse accusers benefited from almost £100,000 of public money from Scottish Government agencies after she made allegations against him in court.

The woman was a director of a company that received the money from two sources in the 18 months after the former First Minister’s trial.

WhatsApp messages show that the woman was visited by a senior SNP official in January 2019 and that the party’s now jailed former chief executive Peter Murrell was keen to get her permission to pass a complaint from her to police.

In another message Chief Operating Officer Sue Ruddick said she hoped the woman would get “back in the game”.

In court the woman said she had felt “hunted” by Salmond who she claimed had “pounced on her” after a dinner at Bute House in June 2014.

Under cross examination she denied making up the allegation after defence lawyer Shelagh McCall QC suggested the woman was not at Bute House on either date she claimed to have been attacked.

Salmond was ultimately cleared of all charges against him in March 2020 and earlier this year we revealed WhatsApps which appear to show senior SNP figures conspiring against the former First Minister.

He believed former SNP colleagues including Nicola Sturgeon plotted to bring him down and was suing the Scottish Government at the time his death in October 2024.

The case has now been picked up by millionaire businessman Paul McManus who has said he “strongly believes” there was a plot.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr MSP said: “The SNP has serious questions to answer over almost £100,000 of taxpayers’ cash handed to a company linked to one of the most explosive trials in Scottish political history.

“Taxpayers will rightly be asking why public money was handed out and what senior SNP figures meant by getting this woman ‘back in the game’.

“John Swinney must get to the bottom of this and explain exactly what went on behind closed doors.”

Former SNP Justice Secretary and Salmond ally Kenny MacAskill said: “It is clear to me that a number of people at the heart of the SNP conspired against Alex and were determined to see him go to jail.

“There should be a public inquiry because this was an attack on our country’s democracy.

“This is yet more reason why we need to know the full truth of this sorry chapter.

“Alex Salmond was treated shamefully and Paul McManus is doing a sterling job of trying to get to the truth.”

Read the full article at the Daily Record.