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<\/p>\nThe allegations were made after the former first minister\u2019s 2020 trial, when he was cleared of 14 charges of sexual assault.<\/p>\n
04:30, 26 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
![\"Alex](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_JS209493046.jpg\")
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Alex Salmond speaks to the media in 2020 after walking free from court(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Perjury claims at Alex Salmond\u2019s<\/a> trial continue to be investigated by Crown prosecutors five years after a complaint was initiated. The allegations were made after the former first minister\u2019s 2020 trial<\/a>, when he was cleared of 14 charges of sexual assault.<\/p>\n Salmond\u2019s<\/a> lawyers wrote to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in March 2021 setting out a number of concerns and an advocate and senior prosecutor were assigned to the case. The probe is still active.<\/p>\n Ex-SNP justice secretary Kenny MacAskill<\/a> said: \u201cThere was great concern over some of the evidence heard at trial and I know Alex\u2019s lawyers wrote in detail to the Crown Office on a number of points. An investigation was launched in the wake of that correspondence but inexplicably five years later the matter has not been concluded.<\/p>\n Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond leaves the High Court surrounded by police and the media <\/p>\n \u201cThe Crown has been keen to pursue prosecutions against anyone deemed to have breached court orders in \u00adrelation to the anonymity of complainers, but the same effort has certainly not been put into investigating perjury claims. In the last five years there has been no substantive progress on an issue of major public importance.<\/p>\n \u201cAlex<\/a> remained very concerned about this up until his death, and many people across Scotland, including myself, are still concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n Salmond died of a heart attack in North Macedonia at age 69. COPFS said: \u201cCorrespondence from Mr Salmond\u2019s<\/a> solicitor has been received and will be responded to in due course.\u201d<\/p>\n First Minister John Swinney has faced questions since the Sunday Mail revealed WhatsApp messages last week<\/a> appearing to show senior SNP figures plotting to have Salmond jailed.<\/p>\n The messages<\/a> show them doubting the experiences amounted to criminal offences, with one woman furious her name had been given to \u00addetectives.<\/p>\n Others saw senior figures saying they wanted to see Salmond jailed. Asked if the messages showed a conspiracy against Salmond, Swinney<\/a> did not answer directly.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThese messages relate to events that happened a long time ago and which have been examined and explored at significant detail over a whole range of different forums. And I don\u2019t think they really add anything to what any of us knew about these issues before.\u201d<\/p>\n Tory MP David Davis, a close friend of Salmond, has called for a probe<\/a> into our \u00adrevelations by an \u00adinde\u00ad\u00adpendent police force \u201cbeyond the control of the SNP\u201d.<\/p>\n Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!<\/p>\n Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n All you have to do is click here<\/a>, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in!<\/p>\n We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like.<\/p>\n To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n At Salmond\u2019s trial his lawyer Gordon Jackson said he believed \u201cthere was a concerted effort made by people in the government to influence the process, to get it as best they could in terms of criminal \u00adprosecution\u201d.<\/p>\n He alleged those efforts were motivated by revenge because Salmond had won his judicial review in January 2019, after the Scottish Government<\/a> admitted it had botched an internal inquiry into two sexual harassment complaints against him.<\/p>\n Lady Dorrian refused to allow much of that material to be used in court but allowed other messages as evidence.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1_5e8b7d37-f274-43d8-ae7f-4da028107587.jpg\")
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